After discovering the 1931 Durban Gold Cup in a wardrobe in his house, a Devon, UK man has consigned the solid gold trophy to Bonhams' South African sale, which will take place on March 20 in London.
 Horse racing memorabilia is on the rise, with this cup expected to see strong results |
The trophy has been valued at up to ?�20,000 ($31,530) by Bonhams' experts, though its current owner admits that it was once due to be sold at a car boot sale. Its true worth was only revealed when he asked a relative to conduct research on his behalf.
This isn't the first horse racing cup to be sold at auction, with the trophies from the Doncaster Cup races seeing an increase in value of 56.7% since 2008 following a ?�32,450 sale in June 2012. In 1998, the Richmond Cup from 1767 sold for ?�122,500 ($199,697) at Christie's - a 308.3% increase on the ?�30,000 valuation.
The Durban Gold Cup is still held annually at the Greyville course in South Africa, though it was first raced in 1926, when it was won by Sir Abe Bailey's Sun Lad. The 9 carat gold trophy at auction was won in 1931 by Le Vin Chaud, who was owned by the consignor's grandfather, William J Jackson.
Jackson, who had immigrated to South Africa, won two other top races during his time, with the three cups passed to each of his sons. The Gold Cup was given to his son Harry, who served as a captain in the famous 17/21 Lancers Cavalry regiment and was the present owner's father.
The trophy was made by Deakin and Francis of Birmingham, which was at the time the centre of gold and silver production in the UK.
Read more on the value of horse racing collectibles with advice from our expert. We have an unrivalled holding of the finest horse racing memorabilia, including one of Red Rum's racing plates from his third Grand National win.
