The Final Furlong

The Final Furlong puts you on the turf as three racehorses come towards you at full gallop: a bay under yellow silks, a grey under royal blue and a chestnut under red, nearest of the three. Clods of turf fly up around their hooves, a white running rail curves away behind them, and the country beyond is soft green under a summer sky. The oil is loose and quick, so it feels like movement rather than a photograph.

It is made for the racing fan with no horse of their own to picture: the person with a favourite course, a meeting they never miss, or a day at the races they still talk about. The silks are plain colours and the course is nowhere in particular, so it belongs to whichever yard or meeting they follow. The upright shape suits a hallway or a study, and the bright silks carry across a room, so it can go large.

It is a print in an oil-painting style, not a hand-painted original. For gifts built around one particular racehorse, its colours or its name, see horse racing gifts.