INCREASED demand for Blue Texel sheep, particularly females from new breeders looking to source foundation stock, saw an improved trade at Borderway Mart, where some 168 sold with mostly increased averages, compared to 142 cashed at the 2017 event.

Leading the sale at 4500gns was a tup lamb from one such new breeder, Caryl Howells, who was gifted a ewe by her fiancé, Dafydd Lewis, for her birthday last May and was selling her first home-bred lamb, Caryl’s Blues Cracker. The February-born ET is full of Dutch breeding as the dam, an imported ewe in the two-ewe flock at Nantgwynne, Llanddeusant, Carmarthenshire, is by Kreuze, while his sire is another import, Beili Blues Peter. Forking out the cash for this lamb were John and Emma Lyle who will use him on their Viewforth flock near Leven, Fife.

Next in the trade stakes at 3500gns was Hackney Crusader, a strapping ewe lamb from Paul and Christine Tippetts’ Hackney flock from Lodge Hill, Shifnal, which was knocked down to Northern Irish breeders, Messrs Colville, Crawfordsburn, Bango. Born in January, this ET lamb is backed by some top genetics as she is by the 18,000gns breed record holder and 2017 Royal Highland Show champion, Joe’s Alvin, while her dam is the Royal Welsh champion, Hackney Yikes, by Whatmore Siren.

Also in the money for Paul and Christine at 2000gns was their No 1 ram lamb, Hackney Classic, which offers the same breeding as Crusader. Reserve male at the Royal Welsh, he sold to Messrs Jones, Oswestry, Powys.

Back among the males and Andrew Froggatt, Bromley, Staffordshire, paid 3200gns for Tap O Noth Cassanova, Deborah Atkinson’s champion from Turriff Show that also stood reserve male at the Royal Highland Show for her 10-ewe flock based at The Manse, Duncanston, Insch. Cassanova is by the Worcester-bought Xana Black Magic, a 2300gns purchase, while his mother is a Beili Blues ewe by Jonsland Wifi.

Earlier in the day Andrew secured the reserve female championship with a gimmer that later sold to Messrs Cork, Codsall Wood, Wolverhampton, for 2200gns. She is by Dulas X-Treme and out of a home-bred ewe by the same sire.

It was a good day for young Fraser Forsyth and his Corra flock from Castle Douglas when two from the same flush secured the male and female championships at the pre-sale show before selling for 2800gns and 3000gns, respectively. Their breeding features the 2900gns Hackney Yardsman on to a home-bred Hackney Xcel daughter and his female leader, a gimmer, heads to a new home near Shrewsbury, Shropshire, with Messrs Roberts.

With both being a full brother to Fraser’s Royal Highland Show champion that sold privately to the Solway View flock, his shearling ram that stood male and overall champion was knocked down to Messrs Bowring, Mansfield, Nottinghamshire.

Fraser then paid 2300gns for the third prize ewe lamb, a daughter of a Bishops ram bred from a home-bred ewe in M and G Sivill’s Glanrafon Blues flock, Plas Coch, Waen, St Asaph, Denbighshire.

The Sivills also brought in 2000gns for their ram lamb backed by home breeding when it sold to Messrs Watson, Whitehaven, Cumbria.

David and Clare Gray sold the first ram lamb from their Ettrick flock from Station Cottage, Lindean, to Messrs Gibbons’ Whatmore and Jonsland flocks based near Tregoyd, Brecon, for 2600gns. This March-born entry that stood third in his class at the Highland is by a Millside ram while his mother is Midnight Yolandy, by a Sams sire.

A feature of the sale was the reduction of Jan Rodenburg’s Turbo Blue flock from Rhydyceir, Ceredigion, which peaked at 800gns for a Jonsland Wifi-sired gimmer which sold to Messrs Hamilton, Strathaven, with proceeds from the gimmer as well as luckpenny from all Turbo Blue sales donated to CLIC Sargent.

Averages: 28 shearling rams, £816.35 (+£47.82 for three fewer); 37 ram lambs, £919.03 (-£7.42 for seven more); 52 gimmers, £744.89 (+£26.55 for six more); 23 ewe lambs, £682.73 (+£275.51 for the same number).