Phar Lap

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Image:Pharlap-and-tommy-photo.jpg Phar Lap was also the name of a computer software company

Phar Lap (in pronunciation, the words are run together usually as one word: "farlap") was a chestnut gelding thoroughbred horse, 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.

The name Phar Lap derives from the shared Zhuang and Thai word for lightning[1] (Thai: ฟ้าแลบ Template:IPA, lit. 'sky flash').

How did an New Zealand horse in Australia owned by an American end up with a Zhuang name? 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 replicated the dominant pattern set by Melbourne Cup winners.

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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 cold 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.

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Racing Life

Image:Phar Lap wins the Melbourne Cup.jpg

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 lbs (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.

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Death

Early on April 5, 1932, the horse's trainer found him in severe pain, carrying a high temperature. Within a few hours, Phar Lap hemorrhaged to death. Much speculation ensued, and when an autopsy revealed that the horse's stomach and intestines were inflamed, many believed the horse had been deliberately poisoned. There have been alternate theories, including accidental poisoning from lead insecticide and a stomach condition.

In 2000, equine specialists studying the two autopsies concluded that Phar Lap probably died of Duedentis-Proximal jejunitis, an acute bacterial gastroenteritis. It was not until the 1980s that the infection could be formally identified.

At any rate, he never had the opportunity to confront the great Equipoise, the so 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 his 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. (Although in 1989 the famous Secretariat's heart weighed in at an astonishing 9.6 kg)

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 who 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 gallops 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."

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Cultural Impact

Image:Pharlap-move-poster.jpg 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 inducted, as one of the five inaugural horse inductees into the Australian Racing Hall of Fame, alongside the 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 #22.

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Racing Record

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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
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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 2m 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) 2m 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 1/4m 7.13 Nightmarch 2nd
Won SAJC Elder Stakes (wfa) 9f 8.4 Fruition 2nd
Won SAJC King's Cup 12f 9.5 Nadean 2nd
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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 Cravan Plate (wfa) 10f 8.11 Nightmarch 2nd
Won AJC Randwick Plate (wfa) 2m 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 2m 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
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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 Cravan Plate (wfa) 10f 9.1 Pentheus 2nd
Won AJC Randwick Plate (wfa) 2m 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 2m 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

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Pedigree

Template:Pedigree

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External links

de:Phar Lap

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