A rare plaque featuring an American horse acquired by Shambles indoor market antique dealer David Levy is on its way back to the United States.

Mr Levy snapped up the silver plaque of the Kentucky Derby winner Twenty Grand when he spotted it at the Southwick car boot sale about a month ago.

He knew nothing about the horse but had some knowledge of the artist, Julien Focan.

When he got home he researched Focan and the horse and discovered the plaque was a one-off. The plaque was made by Focan in 1931 after Twenty Grand won the Kentucky race.

Focan, who was born in Belgium, went on to work with Cecil B de Mille on the Ten Commandments and to design American football trophies, the Rose, Cotton and Orange bowls.

Mr Levy, who lives in Westbury and has been an antiques dealer for almost 50 years, said: “When I saw the plaque at the boot sale I knew straight away it was quality.

“A lot of people were looking at it but because American silver is not hallmarked they didn’t think very much of it. If a piece is unusual it’s generally valuable but not everything I buy is for value. I like quirky and unusual things.”

He bought the plaque with a married couple from Georgia in mind as potential buyers.

Mr Levy said: “The couple pass through Devizes every couple of months. They go all over the world selling products to vets and I thought they would like the plaque. They took to it straight away. I’ve no idea how the plaque got from America to Wiltshire but I’m very pleased it’s going back to America.”

Mr Levy declined to say how much he paid for the plaque but said he sold it for hundreds of pounds.

In the blood horse ranking of the top 100 US thoroughbred champions of the 20th century, Twenty Grand ranked number 52.

Bill Huntly, the organiser of the Old Curiosity Market in The Shambles, said: “It’s always worth popping into The Shambles on Sundays and Mondays because you never really know what treasures you are likely to pick up.”