One of Britain's oldest horseracing trophies, the 1783 Doncaster Cup, has beaten its estimate at Christie's by 8.1%.
The 1783 specimen sold for £32,450 in London on May 31 as part of Christie's Centuries of Style auction, no doubt a result of its considerable eye appeal and the fabled history of the annual event.
 The Doncaster Cup has been run since 1766 |
The Doncaster Cup was first competed for in 1766 and is still run today, making it is the oldest continuing regulated horse race in the world.
The 1783 event was won by Pacolet, a grey colt, earning his owner William Garforth 100 guineas.
The artefact trumped the 1778 Doncaster Cup trophy by 56.7%. It had sold for £20,700 in 2008, clear evidence of the growing demand for these storied pieces.
The auction also featured a silver claret jug given by novelist Charles Dickens to a Scottish journalist. The John Samuel Hunt jug came to the auction with a £10,000 estimate, selling for £28,750, a rise of 187.5%.
Horse racing memorabilia is a growing market. In 2005, the entranceway to Ascot racecourse's winner's enclosure made £28,000 at auction.
Equine artworks can also change hands for considerable sums, and none more so than pieces by George Stubbs (1724-1806). His Gimcrack on Newmarket Heath sold for £22.4m at Christie's in July 2011.
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