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.

The most interesting lot was the Gold Cup won in 1948 by Cottage Rake, trained by Vincent O’Brien. It made £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 £38,000.

“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,” auctioneer Graham Budd explained. “It tells a wonderful story of half a century of racing history.”

Other notable items sold last week included many racecards from big racedays, signed by participating jockeys.

There were plenty of signed photos of Lester Piggott on offer, generally fetching between £50 and £100, while a photo of Frankel signed by Sir Henry Cecil went for £400.