A strong demand for Mule ewe lambs and gimmers on the run up to Kelso, ensured a buoyant trade for Bluefaced Leicesters with the breed producing the top two prices of the entire sales, at £15,000 and £12,000.

Most years it is the Texel breed that dominates the lead prices, but with Mule females bred from Blackfaces, Swaledales and Cheviot ewes, making big money, both the crossing and traditional types of Bluefaced Leicesters were in demand.

"Trade was a lot better than vendors expected but then Mule ewe lambs have been selling well and better than most people thought too," said Archie Hamilton, head sheep auctioneer at Lawrie and Symington, who sold most of the Blues.

"People were looking for better quality tups this year, and were paying more for correct sheep, and looking for sheep that were good on their legs in particular," he added pointing out that commercial tups were selling for £400-£600 per head.

While most flockmasters enjoyed a good day, it was nevertheless the pen of 10 from Mrs Obie Sharp's 50-strong Newbigging Walls ewe flock from Lauder, that took the sale by storm early on in the day, to produce the lead average at £3710.

It was also the second year in succession that Newbigging Walls produced the lead priced Blue having last year sold to £8000

This year, a cracking trade from start to finish which included a personal best of £15,000 saw Mrs Sharp's pen leader sell to a team of five big guns to include James Herdman who owns the Edlingham flock from Edlingham, Newtown, Alnwick; John and Richard Wood, Kingledores, Broughton, Biggar; Jim and Colin Dick, Hamildean, Peebles; Derek Hall, Firth, Lilbyburn, Penicuik and Andrew Campbell, Drimsynie, Lochgoilhead.

The sire of several of the Scotch Mule ewe lambs that made £150 at St Boswells, this monster of a tup boasts some top genetics on both sides too. A triplet-born lamb, he is by the £20,000 Duhonw tup bought in 2017 at Hawes with James Herdman, Bill Hedley and Colin Campbell, while the dam, a home-bred ewe is by a £6000 Duhonw tup that stood champion at the pre-sale show at Hawes, again in the same partnership.

More notable is the fact that his two natural-born and reared full brothers, made £6000 and £3000 for the Sharp team which included Alan Rogerson, James Brady, Andrew Bell and Peter Lothian. The dearest, which was reared by his mother alongside the £15,000 cracker was knocked down to the Hamilton brothers from Aitkengall, Innerwick, Dunbar.

The remaining triplet made £3000 selling to Jack Kay and his mother Sheila, Hartside, Oxton, Lauder – the second last bidders on the £15,000 shearling.

The Wights from Midlock – Allan, son Allan and his son Ben along with shepherds Brian Gilchrist and Iain Clark, produced the £12,000 Blue, purchased by John and Finlay Robertson, buying for their Beeches flock from West Calder and Malcolm Coubrough, Hartside, Lamington. Top genetics are behind this cracker with the sire being the well-known Midlock Mustang, onto a home-bred ewe that stood champion at the Highland Show in 2018 and has bred no fewer than four, five-figure priced rams. She is by the E1 Hewgill purchased for £11,000.

Three other Midlock shearlings from Crawford, Abington, made £3000. These included two by Midlock Mustang purchased with the first, bred from a ewe by the G2 Marriforth selling to Ian and Andrew Cullens, Dollarbank, Dollar, and the second, out of a ewe by the H1 Carry House knocked down in a two-way split to W Linton, Thirstan Cottage, Crawfordjohn, and C and S Napier, Burnhead, Eddleston.

Another by a home-bred son of a G19 Highberries tup retained for breeding and out of a ewe by the E1 Hewgill, headed home with Alec and Anders Brown, Macqueston, Tyron, Thornhill, Dumfriesshire.

Midlock also sold the lead priced Blue lamb at £1700, purchased by AS and W Lockhart, Culdoach, Kirkcudbright. The breeding behind this ET lamb includes a home-bred ewe by Midlock Mustang and the L1 Hundith.

James Herdman's Edlingham flock was another in the money, with sales at £8000 and £5500 from his 35-strong ewe flock. Producing a personal best here was a son of a £3600 J1 Hott Bank tup bought at Carlisle for £3600 in partnership with Bill Hedley, Obie Sharp and the Campbells, Easter Happrew, bred from a home-bred gimmer by a £15,000 H2 Carry House. The sire of £130 Mule ewe lambs sold at Hexham, he was placed at Peebles, stood third at the pre-sale show, and sold to the Kays at Hartside, Lammermuir and Sam McClymont and sons William and Scott, Tinnis, Yarrow.

Mr Herdman also produced the pre-sale champion, a son of the H2 Carry House, out of a ewe by the H1 Duhonw bought at Hawes for £9500 when he stood reserve champion. Alex Kirkpatrick, Barr, Sanquhar, was the final bidder.

Traditional Blues peaked at £5800 for the pre-sale section champion from Alan McClymont and sons, Sam and Oli, Kirkstead, Yarrow. Their pen leader, a shearling tup is by the Burndale ram that twice scooped the breed honours at the Highland and a reserve inter-breed championship, is out of a home-bred ewe by a D2 Leadburnlea. Full brother to last year's £4000 Kirkstead shearling sold here, he headed home with Raymond Baynes, Blackford, Croy, Inverness.

Despite another early calling, Dumfriesshire breeders, Alec and Anders Brown, Macqueston, received £5200 for their pen leader, a late born shearling ram by the £12,000 K1 Carry House bought at Hawes, bred from a ewe by the G19 Highberries. The sire of Scotch Mule ewe lambs at Castle Douglas which sold to £120 to average £102 for 400, he was knocked down to Iain and David McArthur, Arnicle, Campbeltown.

Gary McDonald's Mid Auchengray flock from Stobo, Peebles, was another to come up with the goods, selling his first, a shearling son of an H41 Midlock, out of a home-bred ewe by a D6 Riddings, for £3500 to Liz Galloway, Lochlyoch, Biggar.

Just behind on £3400, Iain Minto, Townhead, Dolphinton, sold his pen leader, the second prize shearling at the pre-sale show and a son of a J1 Haininghead bred from a ewe by Midlock Super Ali, to Billy and Gavin Kerr, Sauchrie Mains, Maybole, Ayrshire.

Second top flock average was £2220 for five Blarnavaid shearlings from Jamie Pirie's Drymen-based flock. His pen were all sons of the £37,000 K20 Midlock tup bought at Hawes in 2017 in partnership with Andrew Campbell, Drimsynie. The first was knocked down to Ian Fleming, Firm of Shawhead, Douglas, Lanarkshire, with the second selling to PWB Logan and Son, Brockoch, New Cumnock.

Averages: 450 shearling rams, £968.29 (+£28.10 for 64 fewer sold); 38 ram lambs, £616.84 (-£141.62 for 12 more).