5 April, 2012
- BIG HEART -
On this day in 1932, Australia's best known race-horse, Phar Lap died under mysterious circumstances.
Phar
Lap, a giant chestnut thoroughbred gelding, standing 17.1 hands high, is regarded
by many to be Australia's and New Zealand's greatest racehorse. A much loved
Australian national icon, he was actually born and bred in Timaru, in the South
Island of New Zealand, but never raced in NZ.
The name Phar Lap was derived from the shared Zhuang and Thai word for lightning. According to the Museum Victoria, medical student Aubrey Ping often visited the track in Randwick, talking with riders and trainers. He had learned some Zhuang from his father, who migrated to Australia from southern China. He reputedly suggested "Farlap" as the horse's name. Sydney trainer Harry 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.
Phar Lap dominated the racing scene in Australia during a long and distinguished career. In the four years of his racing career, he won 37 of 51 races he entered, including the Melbourne Cup in 1930. In that year and 1931, he won 14 races in a row. For his final race in 1932, Phar Lap was shipped to Agua Caliente Racetrack near Tijuana, Mexico, to compete in the Agua Caliente Handicap, which was offering the largest purse ever raced for in North America.
Early on 5 April 1932, Phar Lap's trainer for the North American visit, Tommy Woodcock, found him in severe pain, with a high temperature. Within a few hours, Phar Lap haemorrhaged to death. A necropsy revealed that the horse's stomach and intestines were inflamed, and many believed he had been deliberately poisoned. A variety of theories have been propounded through the years. In 2006 Australian Synchrotron Research scientists said it was almost certain Phar Lap was poisoned with a large single dose of arsenic 35 hours before he died, supporting the belief 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.
Phar Lap's heart was a remarkable size, weighing 6.2 kg, compared with a normal horse's heart at 3.2 kg. Phar Lap's heart is now held at the National Museum of Australia in Canberra. It is consistently the display visitors request most often to see, and pay their respects to the gentle, big-hearted giant of the horse racing world.
The name Phar Lap was derived from the shared Zhuang and Thai word for lightning. According to the Museum Victoria, medical student Aubrey Ping often visited the track in Randwick, talking with riders and trainers. He had learned some Zhuang from his father, who migrated to Australia from southern China. He reputedly suggested "Farlap" as the horse's name. Sydney trainer Harry 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.
Phar Lap dominated the racing scene in Australia during a long and distinguished career. In the four years of his racing career, he won 37 of 51 races he entered, including the Melbourne Cup in 1930. In that year and 1931, he won 14 races in a row. For his final race in 1932, Phar Lap was shipped to Agua Caliente Racetrack near Tijuana, Mexico, to compete in the Agua Caliente Handicap, which was offering the largest purse ever raced for in North America.
Early on 5 April 1932, Phar Lap's trainer for the North American visit, Tommy Woodcock, found him in severe pain, with a high temperature. Within a few hours, Phar Lap haemorrhaged to death. A necropsy revealed that the horse's stomach and intestines were inflamed, and many believed he had been deliberately poisoned. A variety of theories have been propounded through the years. In 2006 Australian Synchrotron Research scientists said it was almost certain Phar Lap was poisoned with a large single dose of arsenic 35 hours before he died, supporting the belief 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.
Phar Lap's heart was a remarkable size, weighing 6.2 kg, compared with a normal horse's heart at 3.2 kg. Phar Lap's heart is now held at the National Museum of Australia in Canberra. It is consistently the display visitors request most often to see, and pay their respects to the gentle, big-hearted giant of the horse racing world.
Method: flyer for Phar Lap exhibit, old card and a print from a magazine cover
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