A racing plate worn by Secretariat when winning The Belmont Stakes 9th June 1973, mounted on a sterling silver circular dish, the plate mounted on the

A racing plate worn by Secretariat when winning The Belmont Stakes 9th June 1973, mounted on a sterling silver circular dish, the plate mounted on the circular silver dish, with the dish engraved Plate worn by Secretariat when winning The Belmont Stakes 9th June 1973, the dish hallmark to reverse London 1973 by Garrard & Co Ltd, 13 cm diameter. For racing aficionados, debating who was the greatest racehorse of all time is a stimulating topic but ultimately likely to throw up a clouded picture with several strong candidates. In the memorabilia market, however, there is one very clear winner. At recent auctions Secretariat memorabilia has included the sale of a single nail from a Belmont Stakes Racing Plate for $28,558 and World Record $80,736 for his Kentucky Derby Plate. Other memorabilia included his Belmont Stakes Winners Blanket selling for $88,810, his Whitney 2nd place shoe for $36,653 and his Maiden Race plate achieving $36,695. The present lot is a shoe worn in his definitive career performance, the Triple Crown win in the Belmont Stakes 9th June 1973. Such was his dominance that Secretariat was largely racing against himself and the clock. The 1-10 favourite before a crowd of 69,138, won the race by a breathtaking and record breaking 31 lengths. His time for the race of 2:24 flat was not only a record for the race, it was the fastest ?1 1/2 miles on dirt in history, breaking the previous stakes record by more than two seconds. Secretariat's record still stands as an American record on the dirt. The Blood-Horse magazine editor Kent Hollingsworth described the impact it had upon him: ''Two twenty-four flat! I don't believe it. Impossible. But I saw it. I can't breathe. He won by a sixteenth of a mile! I saw it. I have to believe it.''