Phar Lap
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| Phar Lap | ||
 Tommy Woodcock with Phar Lap (1930). |
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| Sire: | Night Raid | |
| Dam: | Entreaty | |
| Damsire: | Winkie | |
| Sex: | Gelding | |
| Foaled: | 1926 | |
| Country: | New Zealand | |
| Colour: | Chestnut | |
| Breeder: | Alick Roberts | |
| Owner: | David Davis | |
| Trainer: | Harry Telford | |
| Record: | 51:37-3-2 | |
| Earnings: | £66,738 | |
| Major Racing Wins & Honours & Awards | ||
| Major Racing Wins | ||
| AJC Derby (1928) Linlithgow Stakes (1929) Victoria Derby (1929) Futurity Stakes (1930) Melbourne Cup (1930) Chipping Norton Stakes (1930) Cox Plate (1930 & 1931) Melbourne Stakes (1930 & 1931) Underwood Stakes (1931) Agua Caliente Handicap (1932) |
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| Honours | ||
| #22 - Top 100 U.S. Racehorses of the 20th Century 1983 Motion Picture - Phar Lap: Heart of a Nation Australian Racing Hall of Fame |
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Infobox last updated on: January 3, 2007. |
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- For the computer software, see: Phar Lap (company).
Phar Lap (in pronunciation, the words are run together usually as one word: "farlap") was a giant chestnut gelding, standing 17.1 hands, who is considered by many to be Australasia's greatest-ever racehorse. At the time of his death, Phar Lap was the third highest stake-winner in the world. Bookmakers offered very short odds on Phar Lap, even refusing to accept any bets on some races.
Although Phar Lap was bred in New Zealand, he was very much a part of the Australian racing scene during his long and distinguished career, and was sometimes called "Australia's wonder horse". He was also called "The Red Terror" and "Big Red" the same nickname as the two greatest US racehorses ever, Man O' War and Secretariat.
Phar Lap was foaled in Timaru, New Zealand in 1926.
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[edit] Name
The name Phar Lap derives from the shared Zhuang and Thai word for lightning (Thai: ฟ้าแลบ fáa lɛ̂p, lit. 'sky flash').[1]
According to the Museum Victoria, Aubrey Ping, studying medicine at the University of Sydney, had the track in Randwick, as a regular haunt, and he often talked with riders and trainers. He had learned some Zhuang from his father, who migrated to Australia from southern China in the 19th century. He was the one who suggested "farlap" as the horse's name. Telford liked the name, but changed the F to a PH to create a seven letter word, and split it into two words, so as to replicate the dominant pattern set by Melbourne Cup winners.
[edit] Off to a slow start
Sydney trainer Harry Telford persuaded American-born sportsman, David J. Davis to buy the colt at auction, based on his pedigree. Harry's brother Hugh, who lived in New Zealand, was asked to bid up to 190 guineas - and when the horse was obtained for a mere 160 guineas, thought the horse a great bargain - until the colt arrived in Australia. The horse was gangly, his face was covered with warts, and he had an awkward gait. Davis was furious when he saw the colt as well, and refused to pay to train the horse. Telford had not been particularly successful as a trainer, and Davis was one of his few remaining owners. To placate Davis, he agreed to train the horse for free, in exchange for a 2/3 share of the winnings - if any.
Although syndicating a winning racehorse can be quite lucrative, Telford gelded Phar Lap anyway, hoping that the colt would concentrate on racing.
Phar Lap didn't just lose the first race he entered, he came in dead last. He didn't place in the next three races he ran, and finally won the Maiden Juvenile Handicap on April 27, 1929. The word maiden indicates that none of the other horses in the race had won, either. They spelled the horse for several months, then entered him in a series of races in which he was moving up in class. Finally, the horse took second in the Chelmsford Stakes at Randwick on September 14, 1929, and the racing community started treating the horse with respect.
[edit] Racing Life
In his four years of racing, Phar Lap won 37 of the 51 races in which he was entered, including the prestigious Melbourne Cup in 1930. In that year and 1931, he won 14 races in a row. From his win as a 3 year old in the VRC St. Leger Stakes until his final race in Mexico, Phar Lap won 32 of 35 races. In the three races which he did not win, he ran 2nd on two occasions, beaten by a short head and a neck, and in the 1931 Melbourne Cup he finished 8th when carrying 10 st 10 lb (68 kg).
In 1930, someone (alleged to have been a bookmaker losing vast amounts of money) tried to shoot the horse.
For his final race in 1932, Phar Lap's owner shipped him by boat to a racetrack near Tijuana, Mexico, to compete in the Agua Caliente Handicap, which was offering the largest purse ever raced for in North America. Phar Lap won in track-record time while carrying 129 pounds (58.5 kg). From there, the horse was sent to a private ranch near Menlo Park, California, while his owner negotiated with racetrack officials for special race appearances.
[edit] Death
Early on April 5, 1932, the horse's trainer for the North American visit Tommy Woodcock, found him in severe pain and carrying a high temperature. Within a few hours, Phar Lap hemorrhaged to death. Much speculation ensued, and when a necropsy revealed that the horse's stomach and intestines were inflamed, many believed the horse had been deliberately poisoned. There have been alternative theories, including accidental poisoning from lead insecticide and a stomach condition.
In 2000, equine specialists studying the two necropsies concluded that Phar Lap probably died of Duodenitis-Proximal jejunitis, an acute bacterial gastroenteritis. It was not until the 1980s that the infection could be formally identified.
However, in 2006, Australian Synchrotron Research scientists said it was almost certain Phar Lap was poisoned with a large dose of arsenic, supporting the theory that Phar Lap was killed on the orders of US gangsters, who feared the Melbourne-Cup-winning champion would inflict big losses on their illegal bookmakers.[2]
Sydney veterinarian Dr Percy Sykes believes poisoning did not cause the death. He said "In those days, arsenic was quite a common tonic, usually given in the form of a solution," and suggests this was the cause of the high levels. "It was so common that I'd reckon 90 per cent of the horses had arsenic in their system."[3]
Phar Lap never had the opportunity to confront the great Equipoise, called Chocolate Soldier by his fans, and the dominant American thoroughbred racehorse of the day (horse of the year in 1932 and 1933 and an exceptional performer in his own right).
Following his death, Phar Lap's heart was donated to the Institute of Anatomy in Canberra and his skeleton to the Te Papa New Zealand National Museum in Wellington. After preparations of the hide by a New York City taxidermist, his stuffed body was placed in the Australia Gallery at Melbourne Museum.
Phar Lap's heart was remarkable for its size, weighing some 6.2 kg, compared with a normal horse's heart at 3.2 kg. (In 1989 the famous Secretariat's heart was examined at a necropsy performed at his death. The veterinarian recorded the heart weight at an astonishing 9.6 kg — 21 pounds officially, though it was estimated at 21 to 22 pounds).
When news of Phar Lap's death reached Australia thousands grieved. Many sporting champions paid tribute to the horse, including Australia's leading cyclist, Hubert Opperman. He said, "I am not a follower of horse-racing, but like every Australian with red blood in their veins, I have followed with close interest Phar Lap's gallop to world fame. Even during the Tour de France, I've had strangers ask after our champion racehorse, and had it been possible for him to visit the Continent, he would have been received with royal honours. He was truly a great boost for Australia and, like every other Australian, I mourn his passing. In my opinion, there is nothing maudlin in a nation mourning the loss of a racehorse when that horse is Phar Lap."
[edit] Cultural Impact
Several books and films have been written about the horse, including the 1983 movie, Phar Lap or Phar Lap: Heart of a Nation. A song, "Phar Lap—Farewell To You", was also written.
Phar Lap was one of the five inaugural inductees into the Australian Racing Hall of Fame, alongside other turf immortals Carbine, Tulloch, Bernborough, and Kingston Town. In the Blood-Horse magazine ranking of the top 100 U.S. thoroughbred champions of the 20th Century, Phar Lap was ranked No 22.
A life-sized bronze memorial to Phar Lap is to be created in the New Zealand province of South Canterbury, where Phar Lap was born.[4]
Phar Lap was the inspiration for the name of the Chicago musical group, "Kevin Tihista's Red Terror."
[edit] Racing Record
[edit] 1928-29 Season as a 2 year old
| - | RRC Nursery Hcp | 5 1/2f | 6.11 | Exact | 1st |
| - | Hawkesbury Two Year Old Hcp | 5f | 7.3 | Sheila | 1st |
| - | RRC Nursery Hcp | 6f | 6.7 | My Talisman | 1st |
| - | AJC Easter Stakes | 7f | 7.6 | Carradale | 1st |
| Won | RRC Maiden Juvenile Hcp | 6f | 7.9 | Voleuse | 2nd |
[edit] 1929-30 Season as a 3 year old
| - | AJC Denham Court Hcp | 6f | 7.2 | Killarney | 1st |
| - | RRC Three Year Old Hcp | 7f | 7.13 | Firbolg / King Crow | 1st |
| - | RRC Three & FourYear Old Hcp | 7f | 7.6 | Ticino | 1st |
| - | AJC Warwick Stakes (wfa) | 8f | 7.6 | Limerick | 1st |
| 2nd | Tatts Chelmsford Stakes | 9f | 7.6 | Mollison | 1st |
| Won | RRC Rosehill Guineas | 9f | 8.5 | Lorason | 2nd |
| Won | AJC Derby | 12f | 8.10 | Carradale | 2nd |
| Won | AJC Craven Plate (wfa) | 10f | 7.8 | Mollison | 2nd |
| Won | VRC Derby | 12f | 8.10 | Carradale | 2nd |
| 3rd | VRC Melbourne Cup | 2 m | 7.6 | Nightmarch | 1st |
| 3rd | VATC St. George Stakes | 9f | 8.10 | Amounis | 1st |
| Won | VRC St Leger Stakes | 14f | 8.10 | Sir Ribble | 2nd |
| Won | VRC Governor's Plate (wfa) | 12f | 7.13 | Lineage | 2nd |
| Won | VRC King's Plate (wfa) | 2 m | 7.11 | Second Wind | 2nd |
| Won | AJC Chipping Norton Stakes | 10f | 8.10 | Amounis | 2nd |
| Won | AJC St. Leger | 14f | 8.10 | Sir Ribble | 2nd |
| Won | AJC Cumberland Stakes (wfa) | 14f | 8.1 | Donald | 2nd |
| Won | AJC Plate (wfa) | 2 1/4 m | 7.13 | Nightmarch | 2nd |
| Won | SAJC Elder Stakes (wfa) | 9f | 8.4 | Fruition | 2nd |
| Won | SAJC King's Cup | 12f | 9.5 | Nadean | 2nd |
[edit] 1930-31 Season as a 4 year old
| 2nd | AJC Warwick Stakes (wfa) | 8f | 8.11 | Amounis | 1st |
| Won | Tatts Chelmsford Stakes | 9f | 9.4 | Nightmarch | 2nd |
| Won | RRC Hill Stakes | 8f | 9.4 | Nightmarch | 2nd |
| Won | AJC Spring Stakes (wfa) | 12f | 8.11 | Nightmarch | 2nd |
| Won | AJC Craven Plate (wfa) | 10f | 8.11 | Nightmarch | 2nd |
| Won | AJC Randwick Plate (wfa) | 2 m | 8.11 | Donald | 2nd |
| Won | MVRC W.S. Cox Plate (wfa) | 9 1/2f | 8.11 | Tregilla | 2nd |
| Won | VRC Melbourne Stakes (wfa) | 10f | 8.11 | Tregilla | 2nd |
| Won | VRC Melbourne Cup | 2 m | 9.12 | Second Wind | 2nd |
| Won | VRC Linlithgow Stakes (wfa) | 8f | 8.12 | Mollison | 2nd |
| Won | VRC C.B. Fisher Plate (wfa) | 12f | 8.12 | Second Wind | 2nd |
| Won | VATC St. George Stakes | 9f | 9.7 | Induna | 2nd |
| Won | VATC Futurity Stakes | 7f | 10.3 | Mystic Peak | 2nd |
| Won | VRC Essendon Stakes (wfa) | 10f | 8.7 | Lampra | 2nd |
| Won | VRC King's Plate | 12f | 9.7 | Glare | 2nd |
| 2nd | VRC C.M. Lloyd Stakes | 8f | 9.7 | Waterline | 1st |
[edit] 1931-32 Season as a 5 year old
| Won | WRC Underwood Stakes (wfa) | 8f | 9.0 | Rondalina | 2nd |
| Won | VATC Memsie Stakes | 9f | 9.8 | Rondalina | 2nd |
| Won | RRC Hill Stakes (wfa) | 8f | 9.0 | Chide | 2nd |
| Won | AJC Spring Stakes (wfa) | 12f | 9.2 | Chide | 2nd |
| Won | AJC Craven Plate (wfa) | 10f | 9.1 | Pentheus | 2nd |
| Won | AJC Randwick Plate (wfa) | 2 m | 9.3 | Chide | 2nd |
| Won | MVRC W.S. Cox Plate (wfa) | 9 1/2f | 9.4 | Chatham | 2nd |
| Won | VRC Melbourne Stakes (wfa) | 10f | 9.1 | Concentrate | 2nd |
| 8th | VRC Melbourne Cup | 2 m | 10.10 | White Nose | 1st |
| Won | Agua Caliente Hcp | 10f | 9.3 | Reveille Boy | 2nd |
TOTAL 51 Starts 37 Wins 3 seconds 2 thirds 9 unplaced
[edit] Pedigree
| Sire Night Raid (GB)b. 1918 |
Radium (GB)b. 1903 |
Bend Or | Doncaster |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rouge Rose | |||
| Taia | Donovan | ||
| Eira | |||
| Sentiment (GB)b. 1912 |
Spearmint | Carbine | |
| Maid of the Mint | |||
| Flair | St.Frusquin | ||
| Glare | |||
| Dam Entreaty (NZ)blk. 1920 |
Winkie (GB)ch. 1912 |
William the Third | St.Simon |
| Gravity | |||
| Conjure | Juggler | ||
| Connie | |||
| Prayer Wheel (NZ)b. 1905 |
Pilgrim's Progress | Isonomy | |
| Pilgrimage | |||
| Catherine Wheel | Maxim | ||
| Miss Kate (F-No.2-r) |
[edit] Notes
- ^ Lightning. Phar Lap: Australia's wonder horse. Museum Victoria.
- ^ "Phar Lap poisoned, scientists say", ABC News Online, 2006-10-23.
- ^ "Phar Lap arsenic claims premature: expert", ABC News Online, 2006-10-23.
- ^ Life-sized Phar Lap bronze to be created in Timaru. Horsetalk (2006-08-03).
[edit] External links
- Phar Lap at Museum Victoria, Melbourne Australia
- Phar Lap at Te Papa, New Zealand
- Phar Lap at the Internet Movie Database (IMDb).
- Australian Racing Museum and Hall of Fame
- Phar Lap Australia's Wonder Horse
- Book Review of 'Phar Lap' by Geoff Armstrong and Peter Thompson
- Digital Photo Collection on Phar Lap
- Life-sized Phar Lap bronze to be created in Timaru
Categories: 1926 racehorse births | 1932 racehorse deaths | Australian Racing Hall of Fame horses | Thoroughbred racehorses | Racehorses bred in New Zealand | Racehorses trained in Australia | Australian racehorses | Famous horses | Horseracing in Australia | Horseracing in New Zealand | Melbourne Cup winners | Cox Plate winners
