The Debutante Stakes is a thoroughbred horse race held annually during the last week of June at Churchill Downs Racetrack in Louisville, Kentucky. A listed stakes event open to two-year-old fillies, it was contested on dirt over a distance of six furlongs. It first became a Grade III race in 1996, and was changed from five-and-a-half furlongs to six furlongs in 2006. In 2012, the race was reduced to listed status.
This lot features three Churchill Downs Champions trophies that were earned in the late 1980s by horses owned by the late Eugene V. Klein.
The first trophy is a silver-plated, glass-lined ice bucket awarded to “Burnished Bright” for her Debutante victory in 1986. The ice bucket, produced by Lunt Silverware, measures 11 inches tall and nine inches in diameter and includes a pair of lionhead handles. The top of the ice bucket is specially engraved with the following text: “DEBUTANTE CHURCHILL DOWNS JUNE 28, 1986 WON BY BURNISHED BRIGHT.” The second award is a sliver-plated serving dish produced by Elkington & Co. that honors “Icy Folly” and her Debutante victory in 1989. The two-piece serving dish stands 7.5” tall by 12 inches wide and is engraved on the top with the following test: “DEBUTANTE, CHURCHILL DOWN, ICY FOLLY, June 25, 1989.”
The third and final award is a two-handled, silver-plated trophy bowl produced by I.F.S. Ltd. In England, which was awarded to “On The Line” for her victory in the Derby Trial event at Churchill Downs on April 25, 1987. Showing tarnishing throughout, the bowl, which measure 5.5 inches high and nine inches in diameter, is engraved on the front with the following text: “DERBY TRIAL, CHURCHILL DOWNS, APRIL 25, 1987, WON BY ON THE LINE.”
Includes Letter of Provenance from the San Diego Hall of Champions.