Texel ram lambs sold to a whopping 26,000gns (€32,117) at Ballymena Mart during the annual Northern Ireland Texel Society premier sale.

The top-priced ram, Seaforde Egyptian King, set a new record sale price for the mart and was forwarded by Co Down breeder Mark Priestley.

Sired by Sportsman Cannon Ball and out of a Knap ewe from Mullan Amigo, Egyptian King sold to the Harestone flock of Stuart Barclay, Aberdeenshire.

Taking the honours for the second-highest-priced animal was Alderview Explosive, a ram lamb from Mark Patterson, Crumlin, which sold for 20,000gns (€24,705) to an eight-way consortium.

Tapped out as the pre-show champion, Explosive is a Kingspark Dynamite son from a Teiglum Bachelor daughter.

Across the sale, 179 rams met with terrific demand and sold to an average of £1,300.77 (€1,530), an increase of £495.67 on last year (€583).