Rare & superbly attractive sterling silver horse racing trophy relating to the early days of horse racing in Cheltenham following the formation of the Cheltenham Festival in 1911.
This beautiful trophy features two figural silver horse heads as handles with four applied silver fox heads as further decoration. To complete the look, on each side a cartouche has been created within two silver horse shoes and beneath each shoe is an applied running hound.
The cartouches are engraved as follows:
"UNITED HUNTS CHALLENGE CUP. CHELTENHAM 1914"
"PRESENTED TO MR E.W. PATERSON, OWNER AND RIDER OF THE SECOND "MERRIELL"
Weight (base possibly lightly weighted): 539.3 gm. Height: 130 mm. Width: 140 mm. Depth: 115 mm. Hall Mark: Sheffield 1912. Maker's Mark: Atkin Brothers. Retailer: Simmons, Silversmiths of Cheltenham.
I am grateful to John Slusar, who maintains the superb website, www.greyhoundderby.com, for the full race details set out below. This website provides historical information on racecourses worldwide, many now sadly defunct. I recommend a site visit. NOTE: You will see the trophy for sale on the "Cheltenham Festival" page.
The race was run on Thursday 16th April 1914 and the full result was as follows:
The United Hunts Cup
1st. Chatburn (2/1 fav) owned & ridden by Mr J.G.L. Eccles
2nd. Merriell (3/1) owned by Mr E.W. Paterson & ridden by Mr Wroughton
3rd. Oakapple (5/2) owned by Mr J.W. Molyneux-McCowen & ridden by Jack Anthony
4th. Tactful (8/1) owned & ridden by Mr G.P. Llewellyn
5th. Kestrel III (8/1) owned & ridden by Mr J.W. Molyneux-McCowen
Racing at Cheltenham: The history of racing at Cheltenham can be dated back over 200 years to 1815 but it was not until 1911 that the first Cheltenham Festival took place. The Cheltenham Festival was originally the National Hunt Meeting, the meeting that staged the National Hunt Chase, a four mile race for amateur riders and the second most prestigious race in the National Hunt Calendar after the Grand National.
The United Hunts Challenge Cup was one of the early races and was the centrepiece of Cheltenham's April Hunters Meeting. The race is now one of the "lost" Cheltenham races and was last run in 1973.
Summary: As can be seen from the photos & history (above) this is a superb-looking trophy and an interesting piece of memorabilia relating to Cheltenham Races. The decoration of the trophy with figural horse heads, fox heads & hounds clearly reinforce the fox hunting theme. Good luck!