A collection of items of Shergar, the Irish-bred, British-trained thoroughbred racehorse are going under the hammer
These items are being put up for auction by owner, Cliff Lines, who was Shergar’s work rider.
The items include a bronze statue of Shergar (Lot 196), Valued at £10,000 - £15,000. A privately commissioned head & shoulders bronze of the racehorse by David Wynne (British, 1926-2014) which was presented by HH The Aga Khan to Cliff Lines the colt's work rider at Michael Stoute's Newmarket stables, signed, dated ‘81 and numbered 5/8, modelled with the horse’s famous characteristic in running of his tongue lolling out, mounted on a gently angled black marble plinth, set with a brass plaque inscribed TO CLIFF LINES WITH APPRECIATION FROM THE AGA KHAN, FROM THE AGA KHAN, SHERGAR, WINNER OF THE ENGLISH DERBY, IRISH DERBY AND KING GEORGE AND QUEEN ELIZABETH STAKES, 1981.
There is also a shoe worn by the legendary horse in the 1981 Derby (Lot 202) on a trophy shield double-mounted with a racing plate worn by Shergar when winning the 1981 Derby and a racing plate worn by Shareef Dancer when winning the 1983 Irish Derby.
Cliff Lines knew nothing about horse racing or even how to ride, Cliff Lines, ‘Cockney Cliff’ as he was known, started his career as a 14-year-old apprentice to Noel Murless. When trying to make his way as jockey he rode a winner for The Queen, before becoming a work rider for the Michael Stoute stable, graduating to Head Lad. He later worked in pre-training before taking out a training licence of his own. Cliff worked for 70 years in racing and worked with top class horses riding them out daily including
The Aga Khan's legendary racehorse Shergar; as well Royal Palace, Hethersett, Jo Tobin, Sonic Lady, Pilsudski, Shareef Dancer and Fujiyama Crest, the last named being Frankie Dettori's final win during the Magnificent Seven at Ascot. Cliff Lines retired from racing in 2019 just before his 84th birthday.
The collection is going under the hammer on November 13, in the ‘Race to History’ specialist horseracing memorabilia auction, held by Graham Budd Auctions in partnership with Weatherbys. The auction will be held at the National Horseracing Museum in Newmarket.