Looking ahead to Lanark Texel sale

Following on from last week’s Dungannon sale the action in the Texel world moves to Lanark this week for the Scottish National Sale and having just spent a good few minutes wading through the catalogue it look’s like it could just be a bumper sale again for the breed.

I’ve confined my scrutiny to the tup lambs as there’s no doubt this is where the major money will be spent, unless there’s a shock in store…

So, here goes for a few of my picks so far, early in the lambs are Albert and George Howie with their Knock pen. Their first caught my eye, he’s by Tophill Nockout and out of an Anglezarke Krug daughter who’s eight ET bred sons averaged more than £5000 last year.

Shortly after this is the Muiresk pen and after the successful dispersal of their females at Carlisle just a few weeks ago I’m certain the tup lambs will have something to offer. With lambs by last year’s 28,000gns sire Millar’s Outsmart on offer and some good female lines behind them they could be the lambs to watch.

And Muiresk breeding features in the Glenside pen of John Forsyth too, with both Nearco and Blondin sired lambs on offer, they could well be worth a look. Alistair Gault’s pen also caught my eye with a lamb from his Forkins flock full brother to 24,000gns tup One and Only.

James Ruggeri has the first prize tup lamb from this year’s Royal Welsh in his pen, this one is a son of Annan Jewel out of an Castleknowe Matchmaker sired dam.

Margaret Lyons’ Milnbank pen is next in my pick and these lambs are all by Millar’s Outstanding and are bred from some cracking female lines too.

And Millar’s breeding is there in the Fordafourie line up with a run of Outsmart sons forward from Sandy Lee. Once again the female lines behind these are strong and full of deep breeding. And fellow Aberdonian Jimmy Douglas has some equally strong breeding in his pen with a number of Kelso O J sons forward. This sire was a private buy from Malcolm Reid shared with Albert and George Howie, and Messrs Douglas and Howie wouldn’t buy a poor tup privately!

Malcolm Reid’s pen for this year’s sale contains some interesting prospects itself, all these lambs are by Mellor Vale Officer a son of this year’s show stopping tup Castlecairn Nile God.

Haddo Phoenix from the Knox family could be one to watch too, being a maternal brother to 18,000gns lamb Haddo Kerfuffle and 7000gns Kingpin.

Last year’s in form breeders, Martin and Cyril Millar, are likely to bring another strong pen to Lanark and their second lamb Millar’s Powerhouse is my choice. This one is by Cambwell OBE and out of a Masterpiece sired dam.

As always I’m bound to have missed something in the brief round up here, so feel free to let me know what you think too