Before the stud bull sale even started today, there was a buzz around the yards at Waitara Angus with the first Baldridge Goalkeeper son in Australia going under the hammer.
Lot 1a and 1b were sold with the winning bidder getting their pick of either with the other bull being retained by Stephen and Amity Chase at Waitara.
The sale 25 kilometres north-east of Tottenham drew a decent crowd with word about the availability of new blood generating a lot of interest.
After some strong bidding Lot 1a Waitara GK Safekeeping S56 was sold for $110,000, eclipsing the old record by by a whopping $60,000 with both vendor and buyer excited by the purchase.
Sold at Waitara was the feature lot, 35 two year olds and eight yearlings for a total of $766,000 (ex) at an average of $17,230 per lot, up on last year's average of $12,512.
Mr Chase said he was pleased with the sale results with 44 of 46 lots purchased (96 per cent clearance) and interest in the two unsold lots after the auction.
"The feature lot bull, Waitara GK Safekeeping S56, is exceptional - as good as any bull we have produced," he said.
"The sale featured a good balance of bulls to suit many different buyers which made for a good clearance rate.
"I was very happy with the figures for the two year olds.
"They were all put in with our commercial heifers so it was hard to get them as heavy as you would like.
"Given the season to be nearly $5,000 up on last year's average and to beat our record sale is very pleasing.
"The 2023 sale is going to feature a lot more Baldridge Goalkeeper bulls which is very exciting."
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Peter Collins, Merridale Angus, Tennyson Victoria, was one quarter of the venture which purchased Waitara GK Safekeeping S56.
Included in the purchase was Crawford Angus, Tumut, Cascade Angus and Poll Herefords, Currabubula, and Little Meadows, Crooked Brook, WA.
Mr Collins was understandably happy to get the bull.
"His overall type was outstanding," he said.
"He has great all round numbers, especially his growth rates.
"Also standing out were his eye muscle area and intramuscular fat numbers.
"Tim Woodham from Nutrien Ag rang me and said there was a special bull available and I trust his judgement so I came up for the sale.
"It was a great opportunity to get some new genetics and Tim was not wrong.
"His low birthweight figure means you can put him over both heifers and cows and you won't have any problems.
"He's just a great all round cow."
Out of Baldridge SR Goalkeeper and Black Angus Dream P13, Waitara GK Safekeeping's EBVs have him in the top one per cent for 200 and 400 day weight and the top two per cent for 600 day weight and feed efficiency.
He is also in the top three per cent for scrotal size and eight per cent for carcase weight.
Lot 3, Waitara Beast Mode R29, out of Baldridge Beast Mode B074 and Waitara F73 Diana L93, and Lot 14, Waitara Princeton R71, out of Waitara Princeton P90 and Waitara H346 Wilcoola N155, shared second top spot at $26,000.
Lot 3 was purchased by MRW Rural, Monkerai, and Lot 14 by MG & AL O'Hara, Tottenham.
The sale was conducted by Nutrien Ag Solutions Wilson Russ, Warren, and auctioneer Tim Woodham said he was impressed with the results.
"I'm very happy with how the sale went," he said.
"Waitara Angus offer good, honest and productive bulls which are commercially relevant.
"The top priced lot has some very classy data with phenotype and a strong frame.
"He definitely looks worth the investment."
The sale was interfaced with AuctionsPlus with 12 lots purchased online.
Partnership helps raise money for charity
After the Waitara Angus stud sale completed, a Stockyard Beef Gold Label striploin was auctioned to raise money for CareFlight.
Waitara Angus and Stockyard Beef have a 10 year history and Mr Chase said he looks forward to their relationship continuing.
"We appreciate the value this relationship with Stockyard Beef brings to our business and that of our clients.
"Stockyard very generously pledged to donate to donate the box of striploin and we decided to match the money raised from the auction of it."
The striploin was purchased by Elders Trangie for $1,000 to raise $2,000 for CareFlight.