BUDD Index: Cheltenham Festival
It’s Cheltenham week, and everyone is asking the same question: which horse will be crowned Cheltenham Gold Cup winner this year?
While that debate plays out, we’ve been looking back at how the trophy itself performs once it reaches auction.
In 2014, the 1926 Cheltenham Gold Cup trophy realised £18,000 at hammer. This was the original 15ct gold cup presented to Mr Frank Barbour after Koko’s victory in only the third running of the race. Over a kilo of gold, fully inscribed, with its original case.
Ten years later, in 2024, the 1948 Gold Cup won by the Vincent O’Brien-trained Cottage Rake achieved £26,000 under the hammer. An 18ct gold replica of the original 1924 design, engraved with trainer, jockey and owner, and passed down through the Vickerman family.
That is a 44% rise across the decade. Even allowing for inflation, the result sits ahead in real terms.
A decade apart, both trophies sit firmly in the same five-figure bracket.
The top of the Cheltenham market has remained consistent. Our specialists believe that comes down to rarity and hierarchy.
There is only one Gold Cup each year. The early trophies, particularly from the formative decades of the race, sit at the very centre of National Hunt history. Collectors who focus on that level of material understand its place in the sport, and they price it accordingly.
On Friday, another horse and jockey will join that roll of honour. In time, that victory becomes part of the sport’s archive.
The race is run in minutes. Its legacy lasts much longer.
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