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Phar Lap - Racing Legend Born in Timaru NZ
Born and bred in South Canterbury and often proclaimed as the greatest racehorse the world has ever seen, Timaru born Phar Lap remains a hero in the eyes of New Zealanders and Australians almost 80 years after his death. The gangly chestnut, affectionately known as “Big Red”, was born on 4 October 1926 at Seadown near Timaru NZ. The horse was prepared for sale at a local stud before making unpromising debut at the National Yearling Sales at Wellington’s Trentham Racecourse in 1928. From shaky beginnings where he failed to impress buyers at his first public appearance, he went on to become one of the greatest gallopers in the world.
Still Revered Today
Even today, Phar Lap (whose name is Sinhalese for lightning bolt) remains the benchmark for champions of past, present and future. During the desperate years of the Great Depression, Phar Lap became an international hero - the “misfit from the backblocks” who became a world champion. During his short but stellar career, Phar Lap recorded 37 wins out of 51 starts, including the 1930 Melbourne Cup and the world’s richest race of its time, the 1932 Agua Caliente Handicap in Tijuana, Mexico. Other major wins were the Victoria and AJC Derbies and the WS Cox Plate (twice).
Mystery and Controversy
Drama and controversy were an ever present feature of Phar Lap’s racing career, including an attempted shooting, bribe attempts and of course the huge crowds that accompanied the horse’s every public appearance. Only 15 days after convincingly winning the world’s richest race (the Agua Caliente Handicap, on 20 March 1932), Phar Lap was struck down in a San Francisco stable by a mystery illness. A short time later he died an agonising death from a ruptured stomach. Arguments as to the cause of Phar Lap's death have since raged back and forth down the generations. Such was the international controversy, that research was conducted by the Hoover Institute in California in an attempt to prove the horse was not poisoned by American interests!
Phar Lap Comes Home
Fierce debate has raged between New Zealand and Australia for decades as to who has the greater claim on the Phar Lap legend. Parts of the horse’s dead body are divided between three nations; his skeleton in Te Papa National Museum, Wellington, his massive 14lb (6.3kg) heart in a jar in the Australian National Museum in Canberra, his hide on a model of his body in the Victoria Museum, Melbourne. The rest of the horse lies buried in California, the place of his death.
In 2009, a bronze statue of Phar Lap by award winning sculptor Joanne Gessler was set in place at the front entrance of Timaru’s Phar Lap Raceway, on State Highway 1 on the city's northern exit route. Now a popular stopping point for visitors and locals alike, the life sized statue accurately shows the length of Phar Lap's stride. Fountains playing below the horse imitate the sound of his gallop, while his hoof stands on his birthplace of Timaru on a map of New Zealand. Future plans for the site include further interpretation of the Phar Lap legend and other features.
Phar Lap memorabilia, popular with horse racing enthusiasts worldwide, is available at the Timaru i-SITE Visitor Centre.
Phar Lap: Key Facts
Colour: Chestnut
Sex: Gelding
Born: 4th of October 1926 at Seadown Timaru, died 5th of April 1932 in California
Sire: Night Raid
Dam: Entreaty
Size: 17.1 hands
Heart Weight: 6.3 kg (average horse’s heart weight is around 4.5 kg)
Race Starts: 51, Wins 37, Placings 5, Unplaced Starts 9
Australian Race Earnings: £56,425
American Race Earnings: $50,050
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