Will Cherokee cause a powwow at Dilga?

[FROM QUEENSLAND COUNTRY LIFE , 19/08/2010]

It will be no surprise if the Brisbane Ekka excitement generated by the McCormack family’s champion droughtmaster bull, Clonlara Cherokee creates a similar powwow among bidders at their annual sale, to be held on Friday September 3.

The 24 month old son of Clonlara’s headline sire, Redskin Vision took out both Senior and Grand Champion ribbons at this year’s RNA Show, winning high praise from the judge and onlookers for his ‘terrific fleshing, bone and weight for age.’

Cherokee’s major triumph capped a remarkable achievement for the Glenmorgan based droughtmaster stud, scoring three broad ribbons from their team of just three entries. Clonlara Dooley, an attractive son of Fernleigh 09 created an enormous amount of interest when he was awarded Reserve Junior Champion Bull at only 10 months of age, while Clonlara Crikey, another Fernleight 09 son, placed second in a strong 20-22 months bull class.

Clonlara principal Gus McCormack said it was unusual that his family would offer a bull of Cherokee’s calibre for sale. “We’ve chosen to sell him only because we already have plenty of his bloodline in our herd. Vision (Cherokee’s sire) is still going strong and we have already retained two of his sons. We also have plenty of Vision daughters breeding, otherwise a bull of his quality would be staying in our own sire battery,” he said.

This year’s Clonlara sale is expected to start with a real bang. Cherokee will sell second in the catalogue, with the first lot, Clonlara Crikey also certain to demand plenty of buyer attention for his tremendous length, balance and sire outlook. The overall offering has been described by Gus McCormack as “the most even line of bulls we have ever presented in over 20 years of sales.”

Clonlara’s Ekka success underpins the stud’s breeding philosophies. “It suggests that we are heading in the right direction, but most importantly it reassures us that the cattle we are breeding to succeed in the commercial world are also an attractive type that people are looking for,” Gus McCormack said.

“A major showring success is a fantastic buzz, but first and foremost we are commercially oriented. Our bloodstock is required to meet strict fertility and performance criteria under all conditions, and positive feedback from our extensive list of repeat clients will always remain our main indicator of success.”

The 95 bulls selling at Clonlara on September 3 are backed by extensive performance data, are semen morphology tested and fully vaccinated. They have had only 60 days preparation on a silage ration “so are ready to go to work with minimum let-down effects” Gus said.

To provide prospective buyers an opportunity to view the bulls before sale day a bull walk is being held at Dilga, Glenmorgan on Sunday August 22 from 10 am – 3pm. Alternatively, the catalogue can be viewed here.

Clonlara Beef Cattle Bull Sale commences at 1pm on Friday September 3 at Dilga Glenmorgan.