Mike and Joy Gadd bought the bull for the top price of $19,000 at Rennylea’s 2012 spring sale.

Mr Gadd said the bull, in cohort three of the sire benchmarking text, was already impressing him for birth weight and as a trait leader for 200-day weight.

“He has been a very good calf getter, holds his condition well and is the type of bull we really like with good mobility, great butt profile, smooth even cover of fat,” he said.

“His figures have remained very strong. It’s trying to find a bull that, to the eye, is exactly the kind of animal we want to breed but also has the outstanding performance.”

The Gadds intend to have 10 to 15 bulls by Ambassador F857 in their spring draft.

Those bulls are already standing out from the crowd.

“The performance of his progeny in cohort three of the Angus Australia sire benchmarking progeny test is very encouraging, and is already contributing to the accuracy of his EBVs,” Mr Gadd said.

The couple are confident they have made a wise decision in securing the top-priced Rennylea bull.

“Not every bull you buy turns out as well as you hoped but this one has,” Mr Gadd said.

“We have paid money for bulls that haven’t come up to expectations but we backed our judgment and, when you see something that is the type of animal we’re striving to breed, we weren’t going to be easily beaten.

“That was one of the cases where my wife was with me and, within reason, we would just buy him.

“You can see in the raw data that he’s a very good bull.”

Mr Gadd expects that to be confirmed further in 12 months’ time when they have more information from the sire benchmarking.

“But everything is indicating that he is ticking all the boxes so far.”

The progeny of Rennylea Edmund E11, Ayrvale Bartel E7, Tuwharetoa D81 and Boonaroo Front Runner E5 will also feature in the 44th annual sale. Tuwharetoa D81 sired the top-priced bull at last year’s sale and is now in the top 1 per cent of the angus breed for eye muscle area and retail beef yield.

The Glen’s sale will be held on Friday, September 19, on their property adjacent to the township of Walwa.