TODAY at Lynes & Lynes auction held at Eastlink Business Park, Carrigtwohill, Co Cork. one of the lots could be of interest to readers. Lot 220 is a large oil painting (7’9” x 3’5”) which hung in the Guinness Bar at the Cashel Palace and by Waldron West (1904-1994) is called Some Characters Seen At Cheltenham on Gold Cup Day 1950. The estimate is between €5,000-€10,000.

The characters l-r are: Peter Payne-Gallwey, (trainer and steward), Phil Bull, (owner and founder of the Timeform rating system), Sir Winston Churchill, Lady Spencer Churchill, Harry Wragg, (owner and jockey), Keith Piggott, (jockey, trainer, father of Lester Piggott), Anne, Duchess of Westminster, (owner of racehorses including Arkle), Frenchie Nicholson, (trainer and founder of jockey school), Princess Elizabeth, Sir Cecil Boyd-Rochfort, (trainer, Sir Henry Cecil’s stepfather), Ian Balding, (trainer), Dorothy Paget, (owner), Sir Noel Murless, (trainer), Charlie Smirke, (jockey), Ann Smirke, (his wife), Dan O’Brien, (trainer and father of Vincent O’Brien), Barry Fitzgerald, (actor), Arthur Shields (actor - brother of Barry Fitzgerald), J.P. Donleavy, (Irish-American author or possibly his father Pat Donleavy), Prince Monalulu (famous tipster), Princess Monalulu, Pat Gray, (Tipperary farmer and racegoer), Annie Hickman (wife of Pat Gray), Grania Cazenove (owner of a Tipperary stud farm), Waldron West, (the artist disguised as a policeman, Herbert Blagrave (trainer) and Mrs Blagrave.

LAST Tuesday’s ITBA racing and breeding quiz in the Lord Bagenal Hotel in Bagenalstown was a roaring success. Named in memory of the late Mark O’Hanlon of ITM, the quiz was a fundraiser for the family of the late David Naughton of Loughtown Stud.

An online auction, added to the quiz proceeds and some generous donations, saw a total of €31,500 raised for the David Naughton trust.

Every table in the hotel ballroom was filled with familiar industry faces for the quiz and question master Jonathan Mullin of the Racing Post carried out his duties with typical professionalism.

Eyebrows were raised when a Racing Post team, nicknamed ‘Quizlamic State’ took an early lead in the quiz but they eventually had to settle for a share of third spot with The Irish Field. However, the Field team did include the Racing Post’s Matt Camacho who is so bright he even managed to correctly answer all 10 questions in the picture round – before the pictures were circulated!

Tania Naughton has been in touch to express “my overwhelming thanks to so many people who organised and supported the Mark O’Hanlon quiz on Tuesday. I would also like to thank everyone for the extremelgenerous donation made to the David Naughton Trust Fund.”

Try the questions yourself on page A31.