THE DAY family continued its dominance at the Herefords Australia National Show and Sale at Dubbo, New South Wales, with Days Whiteface Calibre G74 smashing the previous price record to sell for $90,000 on Tuesday.
It was Days Whiteface stud's most successful show in only three years of competition since brothers Lachy and Alastair Day, both from Bordertown, split the Allendale stud in 2009, with Lachy forming the new entity with his wife Lou and Alastair (and his wife Jayne) continuing with Allendale.
The $90,000 sire had earlier been awarded the broad sash for grand champion bull. Weighing in at a hefty 1100-kilograms, the Allendale Waterhouse D1 son created a buzz the minute he entered the shed, with many in the audience describing him as the "perfect sire".
Rumours swirled on the Monday night before the sale about the price he would make, with speculation that several syndicates had been formed to bid for him.
Incredibly, the sale opened with a $40,000 offer, sparking a flurry of bids until he was finally knocked down to David Lyons, Melville Poll Hereford Stud, Vasey, Victoria and Stephen Peake, Bowen Poll Hereford Stud, Barrabra, NSW.
The Day family held the previous record of $85,000 for Allendale National W168, set a decade earlier.
The underbidder was Nolaroo Poll Hereford Stud, Taralga, NSW, which later purchased the bull that was awarded a reserve to the grand champion, Days Brigadeir G101, at $40,000.
Mr Lyons and Mr Peake had previously bought bulls in partnership, with Mr Lines, saying they had been looking for a sire to buy together.
"It's not the most I've ever spent on a bull - I've bought one outright by myself for about $60,000 previously," Mr Lyons said.
"He stood out with his body length, thickness, softness and structural correctness.
"He also had very good Breedplan figures."
Full report in Stock Journal, June 6 issue, 2013.
