Interesting to learn that the Double Diamond, the six-month-old Texel ram that sold recently for a record-breaking £367,500, has Manx connections. Or, to be more precise, Manx genes.

Kirree Kermode, from Orrisdale Pedigrees in Ballasalla explained: ’Our boy, Orrisdale Viking, who sold at the same premium show four years ago for 7,000gns, is Double Diamond’s great grandfather.’

Double Diamond was sold by the Sportsmans flock in Cheshire which was established in 1974 by the late Geoff Boden who was passionate about Texels and was one of the first to import the breed into the country.

Kirree, herself an international sheep judge, went on: ’Double Diamond is a very correct, great example of the Texel meat breed.

’The Boden family have invested heavily in new genetics every year, spending 50,000gns plus on rams, year in year out and their stock would be highly sought after by pedigree breeders especially for their show ring quality too.’

Double Diamond was bought by a consortium of farmers, Auldhouseburn Blackface, Procters Texels and Jeffrey Teward.

The Procters Texels flock, based in Lancashire, has as its mission statement: ’It is our intent to excel and innovate in the buying, breeding, rearing and selling of livestock of exceptional quality.’Proctors Farm manager Jeff Aiken said of the new purchase: ’He is probably the most outstanding animal I have seen in a Texel breed in 20 years of farming.’