Blue do at Castle Douglas

After a promising run of Scotch Mule ewe lamb and gimmer sales, the Bluefaced Leicester Association ram sale at Castle Douglas, failed to hit the high spots, with shearling ram and tup lamb averages both slipping on the year.
By the end of the day, 136 shearlings averaged £573 down £138 on the year for the same number sold, while lambs dropped almost £30 for the 34 sold out of the 40 forward. They averaged £483.
There were nevertheless a few bright spots, with local breeder, Robert McKie, selling the number three shearling from his Finniness flock, by the £1000 H6 Forebrae, for the top price of £3200 to Jim Walker, Drumbuie, Sanquhar. 
The Forebrae tup which bred gimmers to average £171 and ewe lambs at £122 for Mr McKie, was also behind a £1700 Finniness shearling purchased by John Guild, Ashmark, Cumnock.
Adding to the Finniness success, the flock also secured the pre-sale reserve champion honours with a shearling ram by the E1 Hewgill. He made £1800 selling to Mains of Larg Farmers, New Luce, Stranraer.
Alec Brown’s Macqueston flock from Tyron, Thornhill, also enjoyed a good day with his top seller making £1700 to Fred and Robert Loughridge who own the Orravale flock at Armoy, Ballymoney, Northern Ireland. 
The breeding behind this big tup includes the home-bred G18 Macqueston, onto a ewe by the D1 Shafthill. 
Another from the same home, a son of the H3 Cottage sire out of a ewe by a home-bred sire, then made £1600 selling to Andy Paton, Craig, Straiton.
Two other shearlings made £1600, with the first from Jim Thomson’s J and D Blues flock, from Marr Cottage, Thornhill, purchased by R and M Dunlop, Pinvalley, Barr. 
The sire of the top pen of Scotch Mules at Castle Douglas which made £144, this tup by the G3 Marriforth, also stood second in his class at Dumfries and fourth at the pre-sale show.
Also making £1600 was an entry from S Bryson’s Kilfaddoch flock from Closeburn, Dumfries, purchased by AB Lowdon, Quinloch, Blanebank Farms, Glasgow. He is by a Newbigging Walls sire.
Tup lambs also sold to £1600 for the best from Allan and Ben Wight, Midlock, Crawford. Their second, by a J6 Hewgill and out of a ewe by the G3 Midlock, was knocked down to Alison Bastian, buying for her Rowandale flock from Cairnhall, Auldgirth, Dumfries. 
Midlock also took the overall championship with a lamb by the £34,000 Kirkby Redgate, which made £1000 selling  to J Shedden, Newfield Mains, Kilmarnock.
The only other lamb to hit four figures came from Alec Brown, in the shape of a son of the J1 Forebrae, out of a ewe by the G19 Highberries, which realised £1250 to Messrs Dunlop, Pinvalley.