THERE was a top price of 32,000gns, a 70 per cent clearance and an average of £2,407 for 159 sold at the first Suffolk Sheep Society sale of the season held at Ingliston, Edinburgh.

Leading the trade was a ram lamb from the Solwaybank flock owned by 28-year-old Iain Barbour, Annan, Dumfries and Galloway. The ram is by Baileys Bugatti, out of a ewe by Glenhead Grandmaster and grand dam by Glenisla Grimaldi.

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Top priced ram from Iain Barbour, Annan, Dumfries and Galloway, which sold for 32,000gns .

Returned compliment

The buyer was Tom and Jeff Bailey, Co. Meath, Eire, and late in the sale Iain Barbour returned the compliment paying 5,000gns for a Baileys ram lamb by Rhaeadr Rossi.

Mr Barbour led a string of new and younger vendors, including Gary Beacom, Kesh, Co. Fermanagh, who achieved 15,000gns for his ram by Shannagh Shergar, out of a dam by Strathisla Kingsway, jointly purchased by Brydon Nicholson, Innfield, Shetland and Robbie Wilson, Turiff, Aberdeenshire.

Selling three rams each Mr Barbour and Mr Beacom netted the highest averages, of £11,585 and £6,020, respectively, while Robbie Wilson nipped in a close third, averaging £5,973 on a powerful team of ten.

Mr Wilson sold two of the six five-figure rams sold. Firstly the show champion – this year’s Royal Highland breed champion, a ram lamb by Strathisla Speed, out of a ewe by Glenho Gurkha with grand dam by Glenisla Godfather.

The hammer fell at 25,000gns to Alfred and Norman Robinson, Benrafton, Co. Down. Mr Wilson sold a second Speed lamb, this time out of a dam by Bawnogue Blazing Star for 10,000gns to G. Stuart, Birness, and R.H. Black, Collesie, Fife.

Belgian buyer

Fourth on the averages and third highest price – 20,000gns – went to Jimmy Douglas, Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire, when Belgian buyer Claude Vanwijnsberghe, Waregem, used a strong euro to secure Douglas’ first in ring, a ram by Cairness Renovator, out of a dam by Stockton Stardust and grand dam by Fordafourie Lochnagar.

With the largest consignment of the day Mr Douglas averaged £4,625 on 11 sold, including two selling at 7,000gns.

The sale’s sixth five-figure ram selling at 11,000gns was from Myfyr Evans, Llanrhaeadr, Denbighshire.

His consignment of five also picked up the red ribbon in the pen of three class.

The 11,000gns ram was by Thurston Calzaghe and out of a dam by Plasllewelyn Prince of Wales and sold to father and daughter, Chris and Sally Holmes, Broadway, Worcestershire.

Also out of the pen of three came another ram by Calzaghe, realising 5,000gns selling to J.K. Teare, Isle of Man, while Hazel Martindale of Landale, Lockerbie, took home Evans’ fourth prize ram lamb, by Baileys Blockbuster for 8,000gns.

The pace of the sale was set when two lots from the first consignment in the ring from C.A. Proctor and Co, Turriff, Aberdeenshire, took 5,000gns each. This was for a Strathisla Schumacher lamb purchased by Herbert Stanley, Bawnogue, Co. Laois and a lamb by Deveronside Whistleblower bought by S. and M. Liggett, Carony, Co. Tyrone.

A second prize ram lamb from George Stuart’s Birness flock, Ellon, Aberdeenshire made 7,000gns. The ram by Castlewellan Eyecatcher was snapped up by John Campbell, Thrunton, Northumberland.

Auctioneers: United Auctions.

Click on images

Winning pen of three

Supreme champion

20000gns ram from J Douglas

Farmers Guardian – Solwaybank ram tops Edinburgh Suffolk Society sale at 32,000gns