Hamish Branson, Banquet, said he was “over the moon” with the result of the sale.

“We have a lot of support from existing clients who have had good results at the weaner sales and have seen the quality pay for them” he said.

“There were a lot of new clients as well that have come to try a Baquet bull, who were really strong and competing well with our existing clients.

Mr Branson said Banquet Tom Cruise T220 had a lot going for him phenotypically, but also have a great dataset, a lot of muscle and was quiet and good footed.

“When you look at his pedigree by the Ben Nevis Rambo bull that we bought a coupe years ago in partnership, we’ve really liked what he has offered” he said.

“The dam line that this bull is out of is just incredible as well, and the dataset that he’s got is pretty unique which is why he gained so much interest all over the country.

“We had a lot of interest from different states and thought they had to get tickets down to Mortlake for the sale.”

He said the stud has always bred for a “different type” that focused on structure, as well as cattle that moved well.

“We focus on cattle that have some strong heads and extra bone, along with capacity and actual thickness and docility” he said.

“That brings a point of difference for us and it meant we had people come here from all points of Australia, and people buying online through AuctionsPlus.”

Bannaby Angus stud principal Keith Kerridge said the stud’s program had for the past 10 years been strongly focussed on structure, so was now also buying high indexing bulls to enhance its numbers, building on the gains made through the past decade.

He said the Banquet bull was purchased to use as a walking sire in the Bannaby herd. He said he bought with confidence, having already had experience with the $230,000 bulls bloodlines through existing breeding programs at Bannaby.

This included having purchases Ben Nevis Jean H215 in partnership with Banquet in 2020.

Banquet Tom Cruise T220’s sire was a grandson of the $82,000 Jean H215, who is a top donor for Bannaby and Banquet studs.

“And we’ve bought a number of Banquet females over the years and have also done embryo programs together” Mr Kerridge said.

“We like their cattle and this was a high indexing bull with good structure and will enhance our program.

The second and third top priced bulls of the day were also heading interstate with Lot 67, Banquet Transfer T219, selling for $42,000 to Tullabardine Angus, Albany, WA.

The third top price went to Lot 38, Banquet Transferabull T324, which sold for $40,000 to Brad Comisky, Lunar Brangus and Ultrablacks, Emerald, QLD.

The strength of the Banquet sale was built on local support. The feature being Lot 62, Banquet Transit T483, sold for $34,000 to Tanner Family Trust, Hawkesdale, Vic.

The sale began with 97 commercial pregnancy tested in calf heifers, which also achieved a total clearance with a top of $3500 and average of $3125.

That top price went to the first two lots of the sale with consisted of nine and 11 PTIC heifers respectively, with the average weight of 620-633kg, and were both bought by Ryan Pastoral, Hawkesdale.

Mr Branson said the PTIC portion of the sale was also a “mammoth effort” for the stud.

Elders auctioneer Ross Milne said the result was incredible, in particular the wide interest from around the country.

“The $230,000 is certainly the highlight of the day, but in saying that, I think the attendance needs credit, with over 100 registered buyers,” Mr Milne said.

“Commercially, the sale was very solid, from Lot 1 right through the end of the sale.