The Hollywood Gold Cup is a Grade 1 stakes race for thoroughbred horses that debuted in 1938 at the Hollywood Park Racetrack in Inglewood California. It was run as a handicap race up until 1997 when it was switched to weight-for-age conditions. In 2005 the Gold Cup returned to its original handicap format. During its annual running in 1949 the 1 ¼-mile race was staged at nearby Santa Anita Park due to a devastating fire two months before that ravaged much of Hollywood Parks grandstand and clubhouse areas. As a result the Hollywood Turf Club moved its entire spring schedule to Santa Anita. This lot features the fully engraved 1949 Hollywood Gold Cup that was awarded to the winner on July 16 1949. The 49 race is remembered not only for the unheralded horse that won the event but for the remarkable jockey that rode him to victory that day.

As was reported in the July 17 1949 edition of the St. Petersburg Times: Solidarity a 12-to-1 California-bred colt put the big-name horses to shame yesterday when he rolled in to win the $100000 Hollywood Gold Cup Handicap. Billed as the richest horse race with its net purse of $100000 to the winner the golden upset was staged before a sweltering crowd of 40535. Solidarity whipped 10 rivals in the 10th renewal of the Western turf fixture.

Solidarity as it turns out was a bay colt purchased for the bargain-basement price of $21000 two years prior at the Louis B. Mayer dispersal sale on Feb. 27 1947 in southern California. The jockey who rode Solidarity to the $100000 finish that day was Ralph Neves an accomplished rider who quite literally beat death 13 years earlier.

On May 8 1936 a then-19-year-old Neves was riding Fannikins in the third race of the day at Bay Meadows Racecourse near San Francisco. In fifth place as they headed into the first turn that afternoon Fannikins and Neves were the victims of a horse pileup and stumble which threw Neves in front of Fannikins just as the horse fell on top of him. After being transported off the track by medical personnel Neves was examined by a doctor and pronounced dead. A short time later Neves friend Dr. Horace Stevens arrived at the track hospital and in a desperate long-shot attempt to revive his friend administered a shot of adrenaline directly into Neves heart. For several minutes it appeared to have no effect and the discouraged Dr. Stevens left the track hospital. Sometime over the next 20 minutes Neves not only regained consciousness but made his way out across the grandstand on his way to the jockeys room. His unbelievable recovery was well documented in local newspapers the following day and that is exactly when he returned to ride again. He failed to win a single race the next day but racked up enough second-place finishes to capture the weekends title at Bay Meadows. Neves would wind up racing for 28 more years and was awarded the prestigious George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award in 1954. He was inducted into the U.S. Racing Hall of Fame in 1960.

The beautifully designed oval-shaped cup which measures 13.5 wide 4.5" high and eight inches deep is actually made of solid 14K gold and weighs an astounding 1786 grams or 63 ounces! On the front of the cup it is engraved with several passages of information from that memorable day including: HOLLYWOOD GOLD CUP HOLLYWOOD PARK CALIFORNIA July 16 1949. It goes on to list the horses trainers C.A. Roles the jockey Ralph Neves the length of the race 1 ¼ Miles the purse 100000 ADDED and the winning time of 2:01 1/5. The engraving also includes the following text: Won By Solidarity Owner Mrs. Nat Goldstone. The base of the gold cup reads: Shreve & Co San Francisco 14K. As it turns out Solidaritys winning time tied the course record set two years earlier by none other than Seabiscuit. A remarkable treasure commemorating a remarkable triumph in horse racing history.