6000gns high at Trans Atlantic Breeders Sale
6000gns high at Trans Atlantic Breeders Sale
By Jeremy Hunt
BIG names in black-and-white breeding were in action again at the Trans Atlantic Breeders Sale in Worcs. But the sky-high bidding of previous events was replaced by a steady trade that levelled 114 at £2000.
Staged at Avondale House, Broadway, home of Alan and Rosemary Shufflebotham, the auction attracted many of the UKs leading herd owners.
The yearling heifer Vipax Mandel Rochelle ET made the top price of 6000gns. Bred from the renowned Roxy family, her grand-dam is the famous 98 tonnes 7-Star brood cow A Hanover-Hill Astro Roxy which topped 14,200kg among her eight lactations. Rochelle heads for Northern Ireland with Thomas Lilbur.
Peter Dixon Smiths Lyons herd made a successful 5100gns call for Steeplehigh Shoremar Melinda, an ET daughter of Maughlin Storm from Shoremar Holsteins, Ontario. This Sept 1997-bred heifer is from the same family that produced the 20,000gns Hayleys Aerostar Margot.
Another heifer of the same age and by the same sire, Cleevale Storm Carmeleen, was the highest priced UK consigned heifer. Offered jointly by Andrew Baird and Avondale Farm, she is out of the Aerostar sired Gillette Carmeleen. Buyers at 5000gns were Mr and Mrs John Barker, Groby Lodge Estate, Leicester.
The highest index heifer in the sale was Kirkblythe Fatal M Sweetest from M and R Kirkham and Sons, Solihull. With interest already being shown in her by Genus, this yearling had a PIN +£134E and ITEM +£139E.
Her dam is the All Time All Britain heifer production champion Kirkblythe Mascot Sweet. She rea-lised 4700gns to A Logan and Sons (Manorpowis) and D Reynolds.
There was another Vipax entry at 4600gns – Vipax Jolt Madelaine. She was carrying a sexed embryo by Blackstar out of Skagvale Prin Mark Gay and was sold to W C Taylor, of Forfar, Angus.
Also at 4600gns was the Robthom Integrity yearling daughter Godwins SFL Integrity Lephina from Wilts herd owners Colin and Jenny Saunders. She goes to the Slatabogie herd of W Paul in Co Londonderry.
Alan Swale made sure he had one or two gems from his herd in Lancs and achieved a best of 4500gns for Gibbon Gloriette 11th, a high index Nov-born calf out of Joylan Celsius Gloriette. Buyer was Andrew Pearce, Sanigar Farms, Berkeley, Glos.
Another from the same consignment was the superbly bred Aug 1997 born heifer Joylan Ledman Rox, a blend of some of the worlds best – the Roxys (Raider) and the Lou Annas (Ledman). She made 4100gns to Andrew Birkle, Wymeswold, Leics.
Averages: 114 head £1982. (Norton and Brooksbank).
This one, Gibbon Gloriette 11, made 4500gns at the Trans Atlantic Sale.