Despite a top price of £150,000 and a further 15 selling for £10,000 or more, Blackface ram lamb averages at the Lanark sale slipped by almost £500 on the year to level at £5075 for 152.

While the sale opened with a bang when lambs from John Murray, Crossflatt, Muirkirk sold at £38,000, £35,000 and £13,000, neighbouring breeders, Hugh and Alan Blackwood, Auldhouseburn, followed later in the day with a sale topping £150,000 for their pen leader of which a third share was retained.

Their best, a son the £160,000 Elmscleugh lamb bought here last year, is out of a daughter of an £85,000 Elmscleugh lamb. Forking out £50,000 each for the remaining £100,000 were John Murray, Crossflatt and Paul Coulson, High Staward, Hexham.

The 2500-strong Blackface ewe flock which runs alongside 50 pedigree Texels also received £35,000 and £22,000 for sons of the £160,000 Elmscleugh lamb with the former purchased by Northern Ireland breeders, Charlie Harkin, The Rock, and Brian Devine. His dam is by a £160,000 Dalchirla.

The £22,000 Auldhouseburn lamb, bred from a ewe by a £50,000 Crossflatt, was knocked down to Andrew and Iain Cullens, Dollarbank, Dollar; Jim and Eoin Blackwood, Dalblair, Muirkirk, the Dunlops from Upper Wellwood, also Muirkirk and Aberuchill Management, Comrie, 'herded by Craig Paterson.

Second top price was £38,000 paid for the pen leader from John Murray, Crossflatt, which sold to David Morrison, Dalwyne, Barr; Andrew Walker, Crammie, Glenprosen and David Murray, Lurgan, Aberfeldy. A son of the £32,000 Dalchirla lamb bought last year at Dalmally, he is out of a ewe by a £90,000 Blackhouse.

Just behind on £35,000 Auldhouseburn and Hartside, bought a Crossflatt-bred son of the 7000gns James McCurdy lamb bought in Ballymena, last year out of a ewe by Tornado, a son of the £160,000 Dalchirla retained for breeding.

Two lambs sold for £24,000 including the No 1 from Willie Dunlop and sons, Quintin and William, Elmscleugh, purchased by John Harkin, Loughash, Northern Ireland. He is by a £45,000 Midlock lamb bought here in 2017 and out of a ewe by a £3000 Crossflatt.

Loughash then received the same money from Northern Ireland breeders, Veronica and Patrick Fullerton, for their second lamb by their own £30,000 Loughash and out of a daughter of a £14,000 High Staward.

Just behind on £20,000 the Campbells from Easter Happrew, Peebles, sold a son of the £75,000 Dalchirla lamb bred from a ewe by a £30,000 Elmscleugh, to Billy and Andrew Renwick, Blackhouse, Yarrow and Burncastle Farming, Lauder, managed by Alan Rogerson.

Other top sellers included:

Mitchellslacks - £18,000 to Blackhouse, Elmscleugh and Glenrath

Midlock - £17,000 to Dyke; £10,000 to Harestone

Dyke - £16,000 to Hartside, Lammermuir and Toxside

Crossflatt - £13,000 to Mitchellhill

Glenrath - £13,000 to Blackcraig, Gass and Glenrath; £13,000 to Fingland, Craig and Knockeen

Allanfauld - £10,000 to Drumbreddan and Little Larg

Nunnerie - £10,000 to Auldhouseburn