Averages: Ring 1 – 267 shearling rams, £2280.15 (+£83.07 for three more sold). Ring 2 – 217 shearling rams, £501.34 (-£55.91 for 48 fewer).

BIG was undoubtedly beautiful at last week's Blackface shearling ram sale at Lanark, which witnessed a cracking trade from start to finish with lead prices of £30,000 and £26,000 paid for the best from the MacGregors at Dyke, and a further 12 hitting the magical five-figure barrier.

Such was the demand that one of the first lots sold made £8000 for Dean Aiken's Upper Cleuch flock from Peebles, when his best, by a home-bred son of a £15,000 Auldhouseburn that made £1600 last year, was bought by Alastair MacArthur and son David, Nunnerie, Elvanfoot. The sire of Upper Cleuch's champion winner at Moffat and Langholm Show, a ewe lamb, this cracker which sold within the first five minutes of the sale, is bred from a ewe by an £18,000 Midlock.

Just minutes later, Sir John Campbell and son Ian's Glenrath consignment also from Peebles, enjoying a flying trade with sales at £16,000, £12,000, £11,000 and £9000, to secure the second top average at £6830 for 10. Star attraction of this pen, brought out by Steven Renwick, was the No 4 which sold for £16,000 to Burncastle Farming Co, Lauder, managed by Alan Rogerson; Scott and Alan Lambie, Ashcraig, Selkirk; John Hamilton and Sons, Aitkengall, Dunbar and George Irving, Mount Benger, Yarrow. A son of the £18,000 Midlock shearling bought here in 2016, he is bred from a £3200 Greenside daughter.

The same sire was behind the No 2, out of an £11,000 Connachan-sired ewe. He was knocked down to Tom and Mairi Paterson and son Robert, Dunruchan, Muthill, Crieff, and Aitkengall.

Sons of the £85,000 Elmscleugh lamb bought here in 2016 also proved popular for the 1200-ewe flock at Glenrath with sales at £12,000 and £9000. The former, out of a ewe by a £20,000 Midlock, was purchased by Willie and Ewan Bennie, Merkins, Gartocharn.

The pen leader, out of a ewe by an £18,000 Pole, was bought by Jim Pate and sons Gordon and Neil, for their 1200-ewe flock at Moorfoot, Gorebridge.

There was more success for the Campbells to come too when their Langhaugh consignment from further up the hill, sold to £12,000. Another by the £85,000 Elmscleugh lamb, he is out of a £65,000 Auldhouseburn-sired ewe and was knocked down to Gerard McGinn, Chirmorrie, Barrhill.

It was nevertheless, Jimmy MacGregor and son Donald's pen of 11 shearlings from Dyke, Milton of Campsie, that attracted most of the attention, producing the top two sales at £30,000 and £26,000 and the lead average at £7441.

Their pen leader, a son of last year's £6500 Dyke shearling by a £15,000 Midlock, sold in a three-way split to Ian Hunter, Dalchirla, Muthill; Nunnerie and the Wights at Midlock, Crawford. He is out of one of the flushing ewes in the 600-pure-bred Blackie flock at Dyke, by a £25,000 Crossflatt.

The sale leader at £30,000 was also by a home-bred tup, but by a £35,000 Dalchirla lamb that sold for £14,000 last year, and bred from a ewe by Sherlock – a home-bred son of Private Eye. The buyers were Burncastle; Sam McClymont and sons William and Scott, Tinnis, Yarrow and Billy Renwick and son Andrew, Blackhouse, Yarrow.

Another by the same sire made £7500 for Dyke, selling to Malcolm Coubrough, Hartside Farms, Lamington, Biggar. His dam is by a £24,000 Elmscleugh.

More than financing that transaction, Hartside received £12,000 for a son of the £8000 Elmscleugh shearling bought in 2016 out of a ewe by a £16,000 Blackhouse. Buying back some of their own genetics, he sold to Willie Dunlop and sons Quintin and William, Elmscleugh, Innerwick, Dunbar; Aitkengall and Andrew Provan and Sons, Parkhall, Douglas, Lanark.

There were more big bucks to come when the Wights from Midlock, sold their consignment from Crawford, Abington. The family, Allan, son Allan and his son Ben, along with shepherds Brian Gilchrist and Iain Clarke, received £20,000 for their No 3 from Dalchirla and Glenrath. Sired by a £7000 Midlock lamb of which a share was retained, he is out of a ewe by a £22,000 Connachan.

Glenrath also bought a half share of Midlock's No 4 shearling at £10,000, along with Tommy Renwick and son Tam, Williamhope, Clovenfords. He is by the £24,000 Connachan shearling bought here in 2016 and out of a ewe by an £18,000 Elmscleugh.

On the flip side of the coin, Williamhope took £14,000 from Midlock for a son of a £25,000 Elmscleugh out of a ewe by a £13,000 Midlock – one of 1400 in the flock.

One of the biggest tups in the market, if not the biggest, made £13,000 for Billy and Andrew Renwick, Blackhouse, selling in a three-way split to Alan McClymont and sons Sam and Oli, who farm at Kirkstead and at the Philiphaugh Trust's Dryhope unit, and cousin Sam McClymont and sons William and Scott, Tinnis. Their purchase is by a £3000 Blackhouse son of the Hulk, a £24,000 Allanfauld, out of a ewe by a £13,000 Midlock.

Kirkstead and Dryhope also bought the dearest from Tinnis at £10,000. This was a son of a £12,000 Kirkstead shearling sold here in 2016, out of ewe by a £10,000 Glenrath.

Top price for Alastair and David MacArthur's Nunnerie consignment, brought out with assistance of shepherds Bo Brown and Craig Thornborrow, was £12,000 paid for their No 2. This hardy boy, by Wisecrack – a home-bred son of a £36,000 Midlock shearling, retained for breeding – is out of a ewe by a £50,000 Dalwyne and sold to John and Iain Finlay, Blackcraig, Corsock and John Harkin, Loughash, Northern Ireland.

The last of the five-figure sales, saw Tollishill, managed by Alan Rogerson and 'herded by Andrew Bell, take £10,000 for their male champion winner at this year's Kelso Show. Producing a personal best for this 1400-ewe flock from Lauder was a son of the £25,000 Elmscleugh, out of a ewe by a £5500 Blackhouse. Reserve male at Kelso Show last year too, he was knocked down to Elmscleugh and Aitkengall.

Young Gordon Pate, who runs a similar number of ewes at Moorfoot, Gorebridge, had plenty to celebrate too when he received his highest price to date for a Blackie, when John Marshall, Gosland, Broughton, Biggar, went to £7500 for his best.

Backed by the best of breeding his entry is by a £6500 Easter Happrew bought here in 2014 that bred 30 of the 40 Moorfoot gimmers that sold for £200 each this year and out of a £6000 Langhaugh-sired dam.

OTHERLEADING prices

£7000 – M McCall-Smith, Connachan, by a £10,000 Connachan, to J Harkin, Loughash, Northern Ireland; RJ Coulson and Son, High Staward, by a £36,000 Auldhouseburn, to D Jackson and Son, Pole, Lochgoilhead.

£6500 – Glenrath, by an £85,000 Elmscleugh, to K O'Mullan, Northern Ireland.

£6000 – Williamhope, by a £2000 Glenrath lamb, to Glenrath; Dyke, by a £20,000 Dyke, to A Kennedy, Mitchellhill, Biggar and J Wood, Kingledores, Tweedsmuir and M Wood, Shawsknowe, Straiton

£5800 – Elmscleugh, by a home-bred son of a £20,000 Midlock to Hartside, Lamington and Aitkengall; W Graham, Craigdarroch, by a Kirkland-bred son of a £10,000 Allanfauld, to J Duncan Millar, Remony, Aberfeldy.

£5500 – T and M Paterson, Dunruchan, by a £2000 Troloss, to C McClymont, Cuil, Palnure, Newton Stewart

£5000 – Glenrath, by an £85,000 Elmscleugh to A Smith, Crosswoodburn, West Calder; Nunnerie, by a £30,000 Midlock, to B Cluckie, High Croach, Lochryan, Stranraer; Kirkstead, by a £24,000 Dyke, to G Irving, Mount Benger, Yarrow.

Auctioneers: Lawrie and Symington.

FLOCK averages

Flock (No) Top Averages

(£) 2018 2017

Wanwoodhill (3) 2000 1433.33 3339

Upper Cleugh (3) 8000 2866.66 819

Dunruchan (5) 5500 1820.00 2050

Glenrath (10) 16,000 6830.00 7150

Allanfauld (6) 1700 1150.00 2077

Glen, Gatehouse (6) 1600 516.66 760

Connachan (4) 7000 2962.50 1720

The Yett (3) 2800 1716.66 886

Nunnerie (8) 12,000 3000.00 2320

Westhills (3) 2000 1433.33 1900

Kirkstead (7) 5000 2157.14 2575

Dryhope (6) 2600 1400.00 1020

Ashcraig (5) 1500 1180.00 1425

Parkhall (4) 1500 712.50 700

Williamhope (10) 14,000 3550.00 3061

Outer Huntly (3) 650 550.00 750

Easter Happrew (3) 900 750.00 4133

Midlock (11) 20,000 4663.63 4436

Drannandow (5) 920.00 833

Blackhouse (11) 13,000 2918.18 1959

Dudlees (4) 3800 1737.50 1560

Tollishill (4) 10,000 3250.00 2035

Clonrae (3) 500 483.33 800

Aitkengall (3) 1500 1200.00 1063

Remony (3) 2000 866.66 692

Elmscleugh (4) 5800 2650.00 3200

Craigdarroch (9) 5800 1611.11 1963

Dyke (11) 30,000 7440.91 4480

Langhaugh (5) 12,000 4100.00 1440

Burncastle (7) 4800 2100.00 2800

Milnmark (7) 1800 857.14 1800

Hartside

Lamington (6) 12,000 3200.00 2183

Mitchellhill (6) 2800 1233.33 2025

Auldhouseburn (5) 3200 1770.00 4175

Crosswoodburn (5) 3500 2020.00 1720

Tinnis (8) 10,000 2500.00 1138

Gosland (6) 2400 1000.00 642

Blackcraig (4) 2000 1175.00 1260

Corsebank (5) 2200 1300.00 2140

Silloans (3) 1000 666.66 3325

Hartside,

Lammermuir (3) 2000 1033.33 1267

High Staward (3) 7000 2600 –

Penchrise (12) 650 181.66 660

Mount Benger (4) 4800 1650.00 800

Mitchellslacks (4) 350 237.50 -

Moorfoot (5) 7500 2260.00 1483

Kirkland (3) 1800 933.33 833

Ring 2 shearling rams

Dryhopehope (5) 700 460.00 512

Larg, Creetown (3) 900 723.33 418

Acreknowe (3) 580 506.66 -

Madrissa (5) 2000 870.00 -

Greenleighton (3) 400 340.00 353

Craigdarroch,

Glenwhern (6) 465.00 650

Fingland (5) 420 278.00 425

Yett Hope (6) 1300 836.66 886

Earlshaugh (3) 750 543.33 207

Henderland (3) 850 560.00 233

Glenlude (4) 350 287.50 260

Unthank (6) 800 520.00 463

Haystoun (7) 1100 691.42 831

Bothwell (4) 1300 1020.00 267

Skelfhill (6) 620 406.66 330

Corsebank

Polthistly (6) 320 241.66 390

Old Kirkstead (9) 1800 1005.56 512

Wester

Crosswoodhill (5) 1300 736.00 -

Midlock

Glespin (3) 600 626.66 420

Gosland Cleugh (6) 650 476.66 -

Hyndhope (4) 380 277.50 228

Mitchellhillhope (4) 500 450.00 562

Braidshawrigg (4) 520 432.50 380

Hill of Errol (4) 450 365.00 -

Clanary (5) 450 356.00 -

South Cobbinshaw (3) 500 366.67 -

Toxside (6) 900 695.00 -

Drumbuie (4) 380 287.50 570

Dunruchan,

Westside (5) 1000 636.00 428

Blackburnhope (4) 300 162.50 380

Kelhope (3) 580 426.66 290

Bengerburn (5) 1050 484.00 362

Sweetshawhead (5) 2400 1086.00 1106

Nunnerie

Wintercleugh (3) 500 383.33 -

Ettrickshaws (3) 420 406.66 258

Westhillmoor (3) 260 253.33 -

Plenderleith (5) 300 244.00 417

Townhead (4) 1100 532.50 -

Fallburns (3) 1000 783.33 1213

Glen,

Innerleithen (4) 480 285.00 403

Glendorch (6) 1250 633.33 484

Kirkhope (3) 800 483.33 280