Gold cup sold at auction 74 years after win

The solid gold cup was one lot sold at the "Race to History" auction on Wednesday

A Cheltenham Gold Cup won almost eight decades ago has sold for thousands of pounds at auction.

The auction was arranged to raise funds for the Bob Champion Cancer Fund, The Injured Jockeys Fund, and Racing Welfare, and was held at the National Horse racing Museum.

In 1948, Cottage Rake, trained by Vincent O'Brien, won the trophy, which sold for £26,000, surpassing its estimate of up to £15,000.

The trophy was joined at auction by a scrapbook collection including locks of hair from the manes and tails of famous racehorses.

Hair from Shergar, Red Rum, Arkle, Nijinsky, and other champion thoroughbreds, collected by enthusiast Ray Goddard between 1948 and 2004 were included in the hair collection, which sold for £41,870.

It was believed Shergar - valued at £10m - was taken by the IRA in 1983, which was short of money and looking for new sources of funding.

The body of Shergar was never found, and it is unknown what actually happened to him following the kidnapping.

Locks of hair from 13 Cheltenham Gold Cup winners featured in the 850 strong lot

“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," auctioneer Graham Budd explained.

"It tells a wonderful story of half a century of racing history.

"We’re fortunate to be selling several lots in aid of some great charities, which have a huge impact in the racing world and beyond," he added.

"We’ve had plenty of interest from around the world, so we’re in a good position to raise a lot of money for these good causes."