The select seven sale of in-lamb Texel gimmers in Lanark was topped for the second consecutive year by Alan and Hugh Blackwood’s Auldhouseburn flock from Muirkirk.

After a flurry of bidding, the hammer fell at £17,000gns to the phone bidder, Robert Bennet for his Plasucha flock. This substitute entry, BYZ1615541, is sired by the £24,000gns Glenside Willie Winkie and a maternal sister to last year’s £12,000gns sale topper, a daughter out of the fantastic Knap Vicious Sid-sired ewe purchased privately from the Cowal flock that goes back to the famous Kelso Pavarotti.

After attracting much pre-sale attention, this flashy gimmer with a tremendous head, colours and skin sold carrying to the £130,000gns Lanark topper Sportsman A Star. The Blackwoods, who are renowned for their Blackface flock, only ventured into Texels five years ago and now run 40 breeding ewes.

Their second offering BYZ1615502, an ET sister to the sale topper, then sold for £8,500 to help them achieve the lead flock average, selling six at £5,565gns each. This one sold carrying a pair to Sportsman A Star and found a new home in Shrewsbury with Rob Evans’ Hope Valley flock.

The Blackwoods then reinvested some of their earnings, buying the second top-priced gimmer of the day at £10,000gns. GGH1606122, the lead gimmer from Gordon and David Gray’s Ettrick flock, from Selkirk, sold empty for winter flushing, with fresh semen from the choice of their rams.

This super gimmer was sired by the Irish-bred Shannagh Won-O-Won, whom they purchased at the Blessington premier sale in 2015. A daughter from one of the best ewes in the flock by Ettrick Rainbow Warrior, she is a maternal sister to several previous high-priced lots including gimmers to £6,800gns and £6,000gns and the tup lambs Ettrick Van Gogh and Ettrick Vital Spark.

Next highest price at £9,000gns was from the Knock flock of Albert and George Howie, HAK1601063. This one is by Ettrick U Cracker and out of a dam by Cambwell Rob Roy.

Selling in lamb carrying twins to £24,000gns Allanfauld Am The Man, she goes back to the dam of the £20,000gns Knock Travis and £7,500gns Knock Topaz. She was the pick of Robert Cockburn for his Knap flock.

Gordon and David Gray then took £7,500gns for GGH1606126, a full ET sister to their £10,000gns gimmer, selling in lamb with twins to the £17,000 Usk Vale Albatross. She sold to David Morrison, Dalwyne.

Following her at £5,800gns was another from the same home, GGH1606164, a daughter of Douganhill Vital Spark out of an Ettrick Sir Alan-sired ewe. She also sold in lamb to Usk Vale Albatross and was taken by Blackface breeder Billy Graham, Craigdarrosh, as his first pedigree Texel ewe for his newly established flock.

Northern Irish breeder Adrian Ligget then added to his Corbo flock when he purchased the best from the Craighead pen of the Cullen family.

The hammer finally fell at £5,500gns for CMC1601212, a flashy ewe with super colours and a great carcase. Sired by Eden Valley William Wallace and out of a Strathbogie Up To Love daughter. She sold carrying triplets to Hartside All Star.

Then at £5,000gns was another of the Ettrick gimmers GGH1606077, to give them an impressive pen average of £3,632gns for 18 sold. This Sparky ET-bred daughter of Ellen Valley Warlord and out of a dam by Irish-bred Enniscrone Van Gaal sold carrying triplets to Usk Vale Albatross and was bought by David McKerrow for the Nochnary flock, Fife.

At the same money and from the same pen was GGH1606181 from the Gray family. This gimmer was very kindly offered for charity in aid of the My Names’5 Doddie MND Foundation, with all proceeds going to the charity set up by former Scotland rugby star Doddie Weir to fund research in motor neurone disease.

Sired by Knock Papoose, who bred females at £26,000gns and £10,000gns and tup lambs to £10,500gns, she was out of a dam by Sportman Unimog. A well-bodied gimmer, with a distinctive black spot on her forehead, she sold in lamb to Hartside All Star.

She was bought by Alan Campbell, Strawfrank, with under-bidder Malcolm Couborough, Whelphill, very generously donating a further £5,000gns to the fund. As a result, a phenomenal £10,500 was donated to the charity.

The Irish buyers again made their presence felt purchasing the next two highest prices. The first one came from the Clark family’s Teiglum pen, CFT1604573, a super-headed gimmer by Mossvale Winston finally settling at £4,500gns.

An ET-bred gimmer out of a Castlecairn Vavavoom daughter; she goes back to the famous Strathbogie Smokey Blue and sold in lamb to Crailloch Ammunition. This ewe was the choice of Alastair Breen, Enniskillen, for his Drumderg flock.

Making £4,400gns and again crossing the Irish Sea was another from the Howie family’s Knock pen, HAK1601089, an Ettrick U Cracker daughter out of a dam by Knock Orion. In-lamb to Allanfauld Am The Man, she sold with an index of 312 and was bought by Mark Paterson, Crumlin.

Close behind at £4,200gns was the first gimmer in from Knock, HAK1601085, a Tophill Wall Street daughter out of a dam by Glenside Razzle Dazzle and in lamb again to Allanfauld Am The Man. This one sold to Karen Wright, Midlock.

And making £4,000gns was GGH1606081, another from the Gray family. Sired by Ellen Valley Warlord and a maternal sister to the £10,000gns and £7,500gns earlier lots, she sold in lamb to the £60,000gns Clinterty Yuga Khan. She was bought by Archie Hamilton, Lanark, for his Smyllum flock.

Second twilight Texel sale set for Cootehill Mart

The second Texel twilight sale of 64 in-lamb pedigree Texel hogget ewes takes place at Station Road Mart, Cootehill, on Friday 29 December at 5pm.

All proceeds from the sale of Lot 35 (PFI1701509) will be donated to the Irish Motor Neurone Disease Association. This ewe lamb has been kindly donated by the Farrell family (Oberstown Texels) and has an excellent pedigree.

The dam of PFI1701509 is a full sister to the top-priced hogget (€2,130) sold at the twilight sale in 2016. Her sire is Kildowney Victorious, purchased at the Ballymena Texel sale costing £3,200gns.

The sale includes females from some of the top bloodlines in the Texel breed both here and in the UK. A number of entries are granddaughters of TYC09016. This ewe has bred female and male champions at the Irish Texel Premier including the famous Oberstown Usain Bolt. Bolt was nominated UK sire of the year in 2014 and bred sons selling to £52,000gns.

The sale includes six daughters of Hillcrest Top Shot, champion senior ram in 2016, champion National Livestock Show 2014 and one of the top valued €ur0-Star rams for the Texel breed in LambPlus.

Thornville Yogi Bear was the supreme champion at Blessington 2016 and is the top rated ram in Sheep Ireland’s LambPlus scheme. There are 11 hoggets in lamb to Yogi Bear.

Other noted service sires used on this sale’s females are Teiglum Young Gun (cost £70,000gns and bred sons to £130,000gns), Strathbogie Yabba Dabba Doo (purchased Lanark 2016 £10,000gns), Arkle A ONE (reserve champion Lanark 2017 and cost £4,500gns), Navac Wonder Boy (five €uro-Star rated son of Tophill Union Jack, Wonder Boy had a successful show season winning male and overall champion at many local shows).

The Cootehill twilight sale will have €uro-Star values catalogued for all animals in the sale and all females are being sold guaranteed in lamb. This sale gives new and existing breeders a unique opportunity to purchase some of the top genetics currently in the Texel breed. Full details of the sale catalogue can be viewed at www.irishtexel.com.