IT was a good day for Eaglesfield young breeder Tom Illingworth when his Limousin bull topped the multibreed summer sale fixture.

The online timed auction saw Tom of Howgillside, snap up £8,000 for the bull when it went under the virtual hammer.

Prometheus is a March 2019-born embryo calf by Wilodge LJ and out of the dam Glenrock Jewel who had stood Reserve Female Champion at the 2015 Royal Highland, and is maternal sister to the 125,000gns world beating record-priced Glenrock Illusion.

In November 2019, Prometheus had won the Junior Limousin Championship at the Stars of the Future show. He was bought by HG Perkins & Sons, Haywood Farm, Radstock, Bath as they continued their recent run of purchases for their establishing Hartmoor prefix which has included the £10,500 top price at Ballymena last week alongside the record-priced 8,000gns embryo from the Grahams herd in May 2018.The sale also saw Tom take both leading prices in the female section. At £3,300 was the 2015-born cow Eagleside Lolita, by Greensons Howlett and out of Towler Cindy (by Cloughhead Umpire), who sold with her May-born heifer calf at foot, Eagleside Rochelle, sired by the Irish-bred Mullary Maxime.

Messrs Lumley & Sons, Bedale, N.Yorkshire then paid £3,200 for Eagleside Juniper, the earlier 2014 born daughter of Towler Cindy and sired by Goldies Comet. She was sold alongside her March-born heifer calf, Eagleside Rose, again by Mullary Maxime.

Tom's father Stephen sold the Glenrock herd in 2014 to help fund the purchase of their farm. Their then 12-year-old Glenrock Spangle, who had bred Glenrick Illusion, was retained in the herd.