'Queen of Newmarket' Julie Cecil's personal collection to go under the hammer at Cheffins in Cambridge

Racing enthusiasts and collectors will have the chance to buy into the legacy of the late Julie Cecil, dubbed the Queen of Newmarket, when some of her personal collection of sporting art and memorabilia goes under the hammer later this month.

Mrs Cecil was the daughter of Royal trainer Sir Noel Murless and the first wife of training legend Sir Henry Cecil. She died in April last year aged 80 and, following the the sale of her Newmarket home, a number of her possessions will go under the hammer at Cheffins, in Cambridge, on March 22 and 23.

One of the highlights of the collection is a menu from The English Garden, in London’s Lincoln Street, dated Thursday, May 2 1996, and signed by the late Queen along with a number of horseracing personalities including trainer, Peter Walwyn, the Voice of Racing Peter O’Sullevan and Lady Angela Oswald, who was lady-in-waiting to the Queen, and the wife of Sir Michael Oswald, manager of the Queen’s studs.

The lot also includes a riding crop engraved Julia Murless, Julie Cecil’s maiden name, and a number of Noel Murless autographed items. The sale also includes more sporting pictures, furniture, ceramics and collectibles.

Some of the higher value items include a portrait of the 1968 1,000 Guineas winner, Caergwle, who was owned, and bred, by Mrs Cecil’s mother, Gwen, and trained by her father, painted by sporting artist Richard Stone Reeves which has an estimate of £3,000- 5,000.

“These items offer an opportunity for collectors, and racing enthusiasts, to own a part of Julie Cecil’s legacy, and we are honoured to offer them as part of our sale,” said Jonathan Law, head of the fine art division at Cheffins.