A Southdown ram, Windrush Lancelot, has sold for £4,000 in a private deal, in what is a new record for the sheep breed.
Southdown breeder Harry Wood of Usk, Wales, sold his two-shear ram Windrush Lancelot to the Goodwood flock of the Goodwood Estate, Chichester.
Windrush Lancelot was the champion at this year’s Southdown national show, held at the Lincolnshire Show.
The Southdown ram had also been first-prize shearling and reserve male champion at the 2022 national show.
“He has always been an exceptional ram, right from birth and while reluctant to sell him, he has been used at home for the last two years, so his genetics will remain within the flock for some time to come,” Woods said.
Windrush Lancelot, which was bred by way of artificial insemination (AI), is by imported sire Percheron, with the semen having been purchased from the Long family’s Chaileybrook flock following Percheron’s own National Show championship win in 2018.
Windrush Lancelot is out of an east Dean-bred dam and originates from New Zealand breeding through the Southern Cross flock.
Goodwood Estate flock manager Nick Page said he had been keen to purchase Windrush Lancelot for some time for both his combination of breeding, size and carcass.
Page said: “He’s a great, modern Southdown ram and the genetics he carries will be an excellent match for those already within the Goodwood flock.”
Southdown breed
The Southdown is the oldest of the terminal sire breeds in the UK and has been responsible for the development of many of the native terminal sire breeds, including the Suffolk, the Hampshire Down, and the Charollais.
Today the breed can be found in the UK, France, Australia, New Zealand and America and many other countries across the globe where its ability to produce high quality lamb has led to it being recognised as a quality breed.
In the UK, the breed is currently undergoing a significant revival as a new generation of breeders are focusing on maximising the breed’s commercial attributes to develop the breed into a modern terminal sire.
The breed’s easy lambing, docility and ease of finishing make it a suitable sire for a range of sheep farming systems in all corners of the UK.
