Hair from famous horses that ‘tells a wonderful story’ sells for £38,000

An unusual collection of more than 800 locks of hair from racehorses sold at auction for £38,000 yesterday (13 November).

The collection included locks from Shergar, Red Rum, Arkle and Nijinsky and had been valued at £40,000 to £50,000 prior to its sale at the “Race to History” auction at the National Horseracing Museum in Newmarket. The collection was gathered by the late Ray Goddard between 1948 and 2004.

“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,” said Graham Budd, auctioneer and owner of Graham Budd Auctions, before the event, held in partnership with Weatherbys.

“It tells a wonderful story of half a century of racing history.”

The 1948 Gold Cup, won by the Vincent O’Brien-trained Cottage Rake, was among the other notable lots to go under the hammer, selling for £26,000 – more than double its estimate.

A striking Victorian silver trophy, depicting the Dark Age Battle of Mount Badon, sold for £18,000. The trophy was awarded for the 1875 Chesterfield Cup at Goodwood, which was won by Sir Anthony de Rothschild’s Coomassie.

The auction also featured shoes from a number of famous racehorses. A trophy shield mounted with a racing plate worn by Shergar when winning the 1981 Derby, and one worn by Shareef Dancer when winning the 1983 Irish equivalent, was knocked down for £4,000. The shield had belonged to their work rider Cliff Lines, who was presented with the shoes after the horses’ respective victories at Epsom and the Curragh.

The Bob Champion Cancer Trust, Injured Jockeys Fund and Racing Welfare will all benefit from the auction.

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