Melbourne Cup auction boosts spring racing fever

With spring racing fever once again gripping Melbourne as the city prepares for the running of the 2017 Melbourne Cup, Leonard Joel has taken the opportunity to entice auction goers to obtain their own piece of racing history.

The auction, from 2pm Thursday November 2 at 333 Malvern Road South Yarra, features a range of racing memorabilia from a metal bust, pin and tribute trophy of iconic Australian racehorse Phar Lap to original photographs of Flemington racecourse taken about 1884.

On the base of the bust are the words “Phar Lap, 37 wins from 51 starts, 1928-32”.

One of the auction highlights is the Australian Racehorse Supplements circa 1905-46 featuring a group of 32 process and colour lithographs mainly from ‘The Referee’ or ‘The Sporting Globe.

They include such legends of the turf as Phar Lap, Comedy King, Bernborough, Gloaming, The Trump and Peter Pan – all Melbourne Cup winners in their day.

Another attraction is Bart Cummings Melbourne Cup winners mounted display featuring Blake Shinn’s saddle signed by Bart Cummings and Melbourne Cup winning jockeys Roy Higgins, John Miller, Harry White, Darren Beadman, Steven King, John Marshall and Blake Shinn.

Other items include an 1853 aquatint rendition entitled West Australian, Winner of the 2000 Guineas, Derby and St Leger, 1853, VATC 1881 membership medal with W. Watts engraved on the back, an 18-carat gold diamond set horse and jockey brooch, and an 1881 Melbourne Cup day official card with 40 entrants including the winner Zulu for the feature race.