A collection of hair from the most successful racehorses of the late 20th century has realised £38,000 at auction. The Ray Goddard Collection beat a 1926 Cheltenham Gold Cup Trophy as top priced lot at a horse-racing sale at the National Horse Racing Museum, Newmarket last week.
Mr Goddard’s collection included hair from nearly 900 horses.
Shergar, Red Rum, The Tetrarch, Northern Dancer, Nijinsky, Arkle, L’Escargot…
The horses included flat and National Hunt horses and a number of US horses too.
Alongside the hair, much of it plaited by Mr Goddard’s wife, Mary, was a large collection of documentation that included autographs from some of the biggest names in racing. They included Brough Scott, Lord Oaksey, Sir Gordon Richards, Ian Balding and many more.
The collection realised £38,000 from a starting bid of £24,000.
“Collecting locks of horse hair might seem like an unusual pastime, but it’s provided us with an incredible archive, featuring some of the most famous horses the racing world has seen,” explained auctioneer Graham Budd.
The collection brought together 42 Derby winners, 29 Oaks winners, 15 Grand National winners and 13 Cheltenham Gold Cup winners.
The Cheltenham Gold Cup from 1948 sold for £26,000. Image courtesy of Graham Budd Auctions.
Sold for nearly double its estimate at the same auction, a trophy from the Cheltenham Gold Cup, realised £26,000.
It was a replica of the 1924 original trophy that was won in 1948 by Cottage Rake.
The Dublin-made trophy was made by Solomon Blanckensee & Sons.
The sale raised funds for the Bob Champion Cancer Fund and other racing good causes.
Horse racing has a huge fanbase (including royalty from around the world), but historical and historic artefacts can be found for excellent value prices.
Silks worn by jockey Walter Swinburn to ride Shergar to the 1981 Derby were sold in 2008 for £7,500.
A Doncaster Cup trophy from 1783 made £32,450 in 2012.
The gates from Ascot’s enclosure were auctioned for £280,000 in 2005.
The most valuable items related to horse racing (horses aside) are the paintings of the great George Stubbs.
His 1765 portrait of the racehorse Gimcrack sold for £22.4 million in 2011.
