This incredibly rare leather halter was worn by the preeminent sire Nureyev as a stallion at Walmac Farm. The hand-stitched heavy duty stallion halter features the solid brass buckles and engraved brass nameplate familiar to most racing memorabilia collectors. It remains in the identical barn-worn condition as the day it was removed from the horse Nureyev made headlines upon his birth in 1977 as the regally bred son of Northern Dancer out of the Claiborne Farm mare Special. His $1.3 million purchase price by Greek shipping magnate Stavros Niarchos was, at the time, the second highest ever paid for a yearling. In an all-too-short racing career filled with promise, he easily won his debut in the Prix Thomas Bryon at Saint-Cloud Racecourse in France, then the Prix Djebel at Maison, before finishing first in Britain's prestigious 2000 Guinea only to be disqualified for racing interference. After the race, he became ill with a virus and never raced again. Nureyev was syndicated for $14 million and sent to stud to begin his breeding career in Kentucky. As a stallion, he sired a jaw-dropping 20 champions amongst his 135 total Stakes winners in America and abroad, including such standouts as Theatrical, Sonic Lady, Miesque, Spinning World, Soviet Star and Peintre Celebre. He is also the damsire of 2008 Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Big Brown. Nureyev died at the age of 24 in 2001. He is buried at Walmac International in Lexington.