JOHN McManus’s bid of £56,000 secured the prize lot for sale on Thursday at the 23rd Peter O’Sullevan lunch in London, the one-off 17-inch solid silver sculpture of Lester Piggott by William Newton. He outlasted Paul Roy and others for this unique offering.

A total of £122,000 was raised for the eight items that came under the hammer, the auction being conducted by John Francome. A Johnny Jonas portrait of Brough Scott, winner of the 2019 award, sold for £18,000, while John McManus’s gift to the charity, two centre court tickets for Wimbledon 2010, sold for £16,000.

Another record crowd, testament to the everlasting appeal of Sir Peter and of the work done by his charity, attended the lunch at the Dorchester Hotel, where Ed Chamberlin acted as master of ceremony and Rory Bremner entertained with his hilarious impressions of many in the news at present.

Nigel Payne and Mike Dillon are the masterminds behind the lunch these days, and tributes were paid to Khadihah Mellah and the work of the Ebony Horse Club. The winning rider in the Magnolia Cup at Goodwood received one of the warmest receptions of the day.

The lunch has raised, with other activities, some £10 million to date.