What a sale it proved to be, as Noel Brennan and family from Co Kilkenny hosted their Whitehall Wonders sale over the weekend online through Denis Barrett auctions and MartEye.
One of Ireland's standout pedigree Limousin herds, Whitehall offered 23 elite females and two promising young bulls.
When the sale closed on Monday evening, 20 lots had sold to an average of €8,380, with a top price of €17,800.
There was an incredible 114 active bidders throughout the sale, with 17 buyers from 11 counties and two buyers from Northern Ireland.
Indeed, it was a Northern Ireland breeder who purchased the sale leader Whitehall Vienna ET at €17,800.
Just under two years old, her sire is the 180,000gns Graiggoch Rambo, while her mother is the Sympa daughter Whitehall Revi.
A single carrier of the F94L and Q204X genes, Vienna was described by the Brennans as "one of the best heifers ever produced from the herd".
Donegal buyer
Securing the next-highest-priced heifer at €15,200 was a breeder in Co Donegal.
Commanding this price was the August 2024-born heifer Whitehall Velvet ET, a Wilodge Vantastic daughter out of Ardlea Grisilda.
A full sister to the Tullamore champion Whitehall Noelle, she carries two copies of the F94L gene.
The same buyer also acquired the cow-and-calf outfit Whitehall Ruby and Whitehall Bobby at €10,400. A daughter of Bavardage, she sold in-calf due in January 2027.
Whitehall Venus was knocked down at €12,400, selling to another breeder in Northern Ireland.
A daughter of Nebbiolo and out of Whitehall Nancy, this July 2024-born heifer offered buyers a glistening set of indexes, ranking in the top 20% of the breed for replacement, terminal and dairy-beef.
Also crossing into five figures was Whitehall Vinyl ET, which retailed at €10,600. A Sympa daughter out of Elite Gisele, this rising two-year-old is a maternal sister to the AI sire Ardlea Rigby ET.
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