Lanark Shearling Sale

Blackface shearling rams on the first day at Lanark saw fewer tups sold and averages down almost £200 per head on the year in Ring 1.

Despite three £32,000 sales, and a further 13 at five figure prices in the main ring, 207 shearling rams averaged £3282, which represents a fall of £293 on the 2021 sale and for 30 fewer sold.

Ring 2 proved more fortunate, rising £161.59 on the back of a £12,000 shearling from Dougie Fleming, Nisbet, but for 46 fewer cashed. Overall, the 93 rams cashed in this ring levelled at £656.99

First to hit that £32,000 lead price was the No 2 from the Wight family, Midlock, Crawford, which sold in a two-way split to Danny Hair, Drumbreddan, New Luce and the Ramsay family from Milnmark, Dalry, Castle Douglas. Their purchase, by a home-bred son of a £60,000 Dalchirla which last year made £9000 to Dyke, is bred from a ewe by a £24,000 Dalchirla.

The pen leader from the Wights, a son of the £200,000 Dalchirla lamb bought at Stirling in 2020, in partnership with Allanfauld, Glenrath and Dalchirla retaining a share, made £30,000 selling to John and Patrick Harkin, Loughash, Donemanna, Co Tyrone. His dam is by a home-bred son of a £24,000 Connachan.

Sons of the £200,000 Dalchirla lamb proved popular for Ian Campbell and Steven Renwick, Glenrath, Peebles, too with shearling sales at £32,000, £11,000 and £6200. The dearest and pen leader, out of a ewe by a £15,000 Dyke that bred the £60,000 Glenrath shearling in 2020, sold in a four-way partnership to Matthew Hamilton, South Cobbinshaw and Crosswoodhill, managed by John Robertson, both West Calder; Burncastle Farming, Lauder, and the Hamiltons at Aitkengall, Dunbar.

The £11,000 Glenrath shearling by the £200,000 Dalchirla and bred from a ewe by a £160,000 Elmscleugh, was bought by Andrew Provan and son Andrew, Parkhall, Douglas.

Glenrath’s No 3, by a home-bred son of the £100,000 Nunnerie shearling was another to make the grade, selling for £28,000 to Tommy Renwick and son Tam, Williamhope, Clovenfords and Billy and Andrew Renwick, Blackhouse, Yarrow. His dam, one of 1200 in the flock, is by an £18,000 Midlock.

The last of the £32,000 shearling sales came for the second last lot through the ring from Willie Dunlop and sons Quintin and William, Elmscleugh, Dunbar, who with two other big sellers at £28,000 and £10,000 produced the lead average at £13,133 for six.

Tops here was the pen’s No 2, a son of the £60,000 Loughash lamb bought at Lanark in 2020 with Nunnerie and Midlock, is bred from a ewe by a £4000 Midlock. The buyers were Donald and Jimmy MacGregor, Dyke, Milton of Campsie; Willie and Billy Graham, Craigdarroch, Sanquhar and Richard Carruthers, Merkland, Thornhill, Dumfriesshire.

Davie Ferguson and Jim McEwan, Drannandow, Newton Stewart and the Mitchells of Little Larg, New Luce, bought the £28,000 Elmscleugh ram, a son of the £80,000 Allanfauld lamb bought here in 2020 in partnership with Nunnerie, out of a ewe by a £22,000 Dalwyne.

A £26,000 Dalchirla lamb purchased at Dalmally with Hill of Errol, was behind the £10,000 shearling from the Dunlops. John Ramsay, Barhaskine, Glenluce; John and Thomas Scott, Garchew, Bargrennan, and John and Richard Wood, Kingledores, Tweedsmuir, forked out the cash for this stuffy ram bred from a ewe by a £5000 Dalwyne.

Donald and Jimmy MacGregor, Dyke, have already had a good year and they were back in the money amongst the shearling rams, with sales at £24,000 and £20,000.

The former and pen leader, by the £45,000 Nunnerie shearling bought at Dalmally with Dalchirla and Midlock, was knocked down to Robert Cockburn, Hill of Errol, Perth and Alastair and David MacArthur, Nunnerie, Abington. His dam is by a £15,000 Midlock.

Mary McCall-Smith, Connachan, Crieff; Merkland and John Carruthers, Silloans, Rochester, bought the £20,000 Dyke shearling which is sired by the £17,000 Midlock lamb bought in 2019, that also fathered their £75,000 tup at Dalmally the previous week along with several other top sellers last year. His dam is by an £8000 Auldhouseburn.

The first five-figure sale of the day at £16,000, came from Una Hodge’s 1400-ewe flock from Kirkland, Sanquhar. Producing a personal best here was a son of an £11,000 Craigdarroch, bred from a ewe by a £2500 Happrew. He was knocked down to Colin McClymont, Cuil, Newton Stewart.

Two shearlings went under the hammer at £13,000 with the first from Archie and John MacGregor, Allanfauld, selling to Malcolm Coubrough, Hartside Farms, Lamington. Their pen leader, by the £200,000 Dalchirla lamb, is out of a ewe by a £32,000 Dalchirla lamb.

Matching that price was the No 3 from the Renwicks at Williamhope, purchased by Glenrath, who were buying back some of their own genetics. The pedigree behind this big tup includes a £60,000 Glenrath shearling sold here in 2018, onto a ewe by a £75,000 Glenrath lamb.

The pen leader from Williamhope, a son of the £20,000 Midlock, out of a ewe by a £25,000 Elmscleugh made £10,000. He was purchased jointly by Tom and Mairi Paterson and son Robert, Dunruchan, Muthill, Crieff and Sam McClymont and sons William and Scott, Tinnis, Yarrow, jointly.

Bo Brown and Ben Cluckie, Waterhead, celebrated their first year in the ‘big ring’ too with an £11,000 sale for their second year selling at Lanark. The partnership, who sold the dearest tup in Ring 2 last year at £1900, sold their second prize winner from Abington Show at this price to Wigtownshire breeders, Susan Archibald, Larg, and David Wilson, Kirkmabreck, both Creetown, Newton Stewart. Their purchase, by a home-bred son of a £22,000 Dalchirla, is out of a ewe by a £1900 Upper Cleugh.

Team Ramsay, Milnmark, Corsock, also received £11,000 for a shearling son of a £22,000 Lurg bought at Stirling in 2020, out of a ewe by a £2000 Allanfauld. The buyers were Kirkland and Craigdarroch.

Top price in Ring 2 was £12,000 paid for Dougie Fleming’s pen leader from Nisbet, Coulter, purchased by Allanfauld and Nunnerie. For their money, they get a son of an £1100 Elmscleugh shared with Midlock, out of a Midlock-bred ewe by Midlock Hawkeye, one of 520 Blackface ewes kept by Mr Fleming.

Auctioneers: Lawrie and Symington

OTHERLEADING prices

Shearling rams – £8200 – Craigdarroch, by a £2000 Midlock to JG Hamilton, Aikengall, Dunbar and M Coubrough, Hartside Farms, Lammington; Dyke by a £40,000 Dyke, to A Campbell, Overburns, Biggar.

£8000 – Midlock, by Midlock Stag, to A Kay and Sons, Gass, Straiton.

£7500 – Allanfauld, by a £9000 Dalchirla, to Silloans and WS Robson and Son, Yatesfield, Otterburn.

£7000 – Midlock, by a home-bred son of Midlock Stag, to Merkland and Silloand; Midlock, by an £1100 Elmscleugh, to C Philips, Finglen, Draperstown; Craigdarroch, by a £10,000 Allanfauld, to G Shearer, Croughly, Tomintoul.

£6500 – Westhills, by a £4500 Mitchellhill, to A Hunter, The Steel, Bellingham; Merkland, by a £4800 Auldhouseburn, to Midlock.

£6200 – Glenrath, by a £200,000 Dalchirla, to Messrs McGuigan, McEldowney and O’Mullan, Co Derry and Co Antrim, respectively, Northern Ireland.

£6000 – Merkland, by a £34,000 Crossflatt, to J Murray, Crossflatt.

FLOCK averages

Ring 1

Shearling rams

Blackhouse (8)   2200      1125.00

Westhills (4)      6500      2737.50

Drannandow (4)              2200      1300.00

Haystoun (4)      4200      1625.00

Silloans (3)         3500      1500.00

Kirkland (4)        16,000  4575.00

Wester Crosswoodhill (5)            5800      2660.00

Tinnis (4)            1100      775.00

Sweetshawhead (5)        2400      1380.00

Easter Happrew (3)         650        550.00

Hartside (5)        4500      2020.00

Parkhall (5)        3800      2500.00

Harestone (3)    700        683.33

Allanfauld (6)     13,000  5416.66

Waterhead (3)   11,000  4066.67

Merkland (7)      6500      2800.00

Kirkstead (5)      3600      1320.00

Longcroft (4)      2000      975.00

Milnmark (4)      11,000  4050.00

The Yett (3)        1000      933.33

Craigdarroch (6)              8200      4300.00

Dryhope (6)       2000      1166.67

Burncastle (6)    5800      2700.00

Dudlees (4)        5000      2400.00

Dunruchan (5)   1400      830.00

Ashcraig (4)        4800      1625.00

Midlock (12)      32,000  8200.00

Glenrath (10)     32,000  9490.00

Aitkengall (4)     1000      712.50

Nunnerie (4)      2600      1450.00

Corsebank (6)    1400      791.67

Gosland (6)        3000      1133.33

Williamhope (7) 13,000  4171.43

Dyke (9)              24,000  7500.00

Langhaugh (6)   2800      1250.00

Elmscleugh (6)   32,000  13,133.33

Kingledores (4)  2600      1200.00

Ring 2

Nisbet (4)           12,000  3370.00

Larg of

Creetown (4)     520        362.50

Dalblair (4)         850        607.50

Earlshaugh (5)   720        478.00

Dudlees (5)        800        570.00

Blackburn (3)     2000      816.67

Crosshouse (3)  100        100.00

Penchrise (4)     2000      905.00

Hillridge (3)        400        343.33

Westhillsmoor (3)           400        383.33

Kirkhope (3)       800        650.00

Glenlude (3)       250        216.67

Cuil and

Clanary (4)         280        182.50

Old Kirkstead (6)             1700      778.33

Dryhopehope (6)            500        388.33

Glendorch (6)    700        433.33

Corriedow (3)    2000      1700.00

Clonrae (5)         1600      640.00

Monkridge (5)   900        498.00

Midlock Glespin (3)         500        416.67