The trophy for the 1830 Richmond Cup won by Lord Milton’s racehorse Medoro.

The trophy for the 1830 Richmond Cup won by Lord Milton’s racehorse Medoro, in the form of a William IV silver-gilt cup and cover, maker's mark of Joseph Angell, London, 1827, campana-shaped and on spreading circular foot chased with flutes and a band of acanthus foliage, the lower part of the body applied with acanthus foliage and acorns and with two reeded acanthus leaf-capped scroll handles, the everted rim with alternating acanthus and lobed decoration, the body applied with a race scene, the detachable facetted cover chased with panels of flowers and foliage on a matted ground and with detachable horse and jockey finial, with beaded borders, the body engraved with inscription RICHMOND RACES, 1830, LORD KELBURNE,  HONrble COL L. ARDEN, hallmarked on body, cover and finial, fine condition, 44cm. high, 3,811gr.

Provenance: Won by Medoro for Charles, Lord Milton (d.1857), later 5th Earl Fitzwilliam and by descent.

Christie’s Wentworth Woodhouse Sale. 8 July 1998, Lot 16.

The race was won by Medoro by Levantes out of Marianne by Sorcerer, a bay colt foaled in 1824. He had also won the Richmond Cup the year before and four races in 1827, two races in 1828 and 3½ in 1829 (The Doncaster Stakes in 1829 had been a dead heat). He retired to stud and lived to 19 years of age when he was destroyed, having broken his thigh bone.

Richmond Racecourse in North Yorkshire staged its first fixture in 1765, firstly on the High Moor before relocating to the Low Moor. Its final meeting was held in 1891, the Jockey Club decreeing that a bend on the course was too tight and dangerous for thoroughbreds. The racecourse grandstand is still extant and has been given Grade II Listed Status. Gallops are still used in Richmond today for training racehorses, the Green Oaks stables of Philip Kirby being located there.

The running of the Richmond Cup endured for just over a century between 1757 and 1858 and a new Cup was produced every year.

Charles William Wentworth-Fitzwilliam was born 4th May 1786. Before inheriting the Earldom on the death of his father (the 4th Earl) in 1833 he was given the courtesy title of Viscount Milton. The Fitwilliam Family Seat was at Wentworth Woodhouse in South Yorkshire and reputed to be the largest private residence in England. The 4th Earl had inherited the estate from his uncle the 2nd Marquis of Rockingham and Prime Minister who had died without a direct male heir in 1782.

The Marquis of Rockingham won the very first running of the St Leger with his filly Allabaculia in 1776; and the 4th Earl Fitzwilliam continued the family tradition with victories in 1789 (Pewett), 1802 (Orville) and 1807 (Paulina). The 5th Earl, and winning owner of the present trophy, withdrew from racing interests in the 1830s and in particular after Queen Victoria came to the throne in 1837 who held little enthusiasm for the Sport of Kings.

The Richmond Races Stewards:

James Boyle-Carr, Viscount Kelburne, (d.1869), later 5th Earl of Glasgow was the second son of George, 4th Earl of Glasgow (d.1843) and his wife Augusta (d.1822), daughter of James, 15th Earl of Erroll (d.1778). He married Georgina Ann (d.1895), daughter of Edward Hay Mackenzie Esq., of New Hall and Cromarty. He had assumed the additional name of Carr on the death of his mother in 1822. She was the granddaughter and heiress of Sir William Carr of Etal, Northumberland.

The Honourable Colonel William Pepper Arden (d.1857), later 3rd and last Baron Alvanley, was the son of Richard Pepper, 1st Baron Arden (d.1804) and his wife Anne-Dorothea (d.1825), eldest daughter of Richard Wilbraham Bootle Esq. He married Arabella, daughter of William, 1st Duke of Cleveland (d.1842) in 1831, however the marriage was childless and on his death in 1857 the title became extinct.