Of the 136 beasts entered in the 2020 Ekka prime beef competition, more than one third of them were Santa Gertrudis and they were the pens to beat.
Alongside the success of the Bassingthwaighte family, Rob and Lorraine Sinnamon, Yulgilbar Pastoral Company, NSW, were also named on the champions board.
In Class 26 - pen of six steers 521kg to 600kg, their exhibit placed second, while in Class 27 - pen of six steers 601kg to 720kg, they claimed first prize.
The 120-day grain-fed Class 27 entry, weighing an average of 625kg, went on to claim the Nutrien champion pen of six steers, before being bought by Coles for 408c/kg.
Mr Sinnamon said it was great to see the Yulgilbar breeding program vindicated by being successful in the competition.
"It shows that our cattle that we breed are commercially relevant, we think this is a great way to benchmark the breeding program at Yulgilbar and it's a great way to reflect the quality of the bulls we breed and sell," he said.
"These guys were bred through drought conditions, went through extreme fire late last year as well, so they've had a tough upbringing, but I guess our cattle will respond to feed and they have the constitution bred into them to be able to perform."
Mr Sinnamon said he was very appreciative of the RNA beef committee for allowing the show to go ahead, albeit in an altered format.
"I've been involved with showing cattle at Brisbane Show since 1973, so it's been a big part of my life and part of the tradition of going to the Ekka every August is certainly something we're missing this year," he said.
"But congratulations to the RNA for the initiative they've taken here in running this competition at Silverdale and still giving exhibitors the opportunity to showcase their cattle."
Rounding out the champions board was long-time competitors Noel and Liz Cook, Kindon, Goondiwindi.
They were awarded the Queensland Country Life champion single steer ribbon and the Elders shield of excellence for a 120-day grain-fed Limousin-cross weighing 710kg and sold to JBS for 442c/kg.
Ben Fogg said the winning entry was a "good long steer with high yield, minimal waist, nice and even in his fat cover and soft".
"We've never won the single [steer] before, we've won the pen of six a few times, so it's pretty good," he said.
The competition also saw five eligible entrants qualify for the Maud and Ernest White Memorial Trophy. The most successful exhibitor under 30 years of age was jointly won by Billy Goetsch, and Luke Cox and Emily Kahler.
