New designs sell but fail to ignite bidding wars

Six sets of eyecatching silks put up for auction by the BHA did not spark the interest hoped with only five snapped up.

The jazzy designs included flames and multicoloured spots and ran for 12 days. But one, purple with a silver horseshoe, did not meet the reserve.

Jockeys can look forward to being pretty in pink, however, as the checked pink, cerise, maroon and red silks proved the most popular, selling for £6,100. The auction raised £28,000, with five per cent of the proceeds split between the Racing Welfare and Retraining of Racehorses charities.