Australian Racehorse. This big chestnut gelding with a name derived from the Thai word for lightning, "Phar Lap" is an Australian legend. Fifty years after his death, his mounted hide, the work of expert taxidermists in New York, the Jonas Brothers taking four months, created a masterpiece of taxidermy, which still attracts thousands each year to the National Museum in Melbourne. In his long career, this amazing equine, started 51 times, recording 37 wins, 2 second, 3 thirds and 9 unplaced runs. However, he is remembered in America for only one race and the mysterious manner of his death. The horse had won every major race in Australia...Melbourne Cup, AJC Derby, Victoria Derby, WS Cox Plate, (twice) however, the purses were small. Phar Lap's owner, American born business man, David Davis, had his eye set on the rich American horse racing circuit and a dream of garnering larger purses. In 1932, the horse was loaded aboard a ship for his ill fated sea voyage to San Diego. Phar Lap was entered to run in the Agua Caliente Handicap, at an American owned track located in Mexico, (Caliente now defunct) a casino-resort complex located a few miles south of the city. The race at that time paid the largest purse in the world paired down due to the depression from one hundred thousand to fifty. Phar Lap, although overweight and racing against top class horses, won by two lengths while smashing the course record. He was taken to a horse farm in northern California located in Menlo Park for boarding and further training while his owner arranged for additional race track appearances around the country. He would never race again as two weeks after arrival, the animal suddenly died. An autopsy indicated an enlarged heart with gastric problems, but the precise cause was unclear fueling speculation to this day what illness claimed the horse. The Australians had a simple explanation, he was poisoned by gangsters controlling the American racing industry. However, Phar Lap's American tour continued, first to New York, where his hide was mounted and upon completion, the image, toured eastern American tracks before being returned to Australia. The mounting was displayed for a time at the Capitol Theatre in Melbourne before being taken to the National Museum of Victoria for permanent display. Others parts of Phar Lap...Heart to the Institute of Anatomy in Caberra and his skeleton to the Te Papa New Zealand National Museum in Wellington. Legacy...His story was made into a movie "Phar Lap" in 1983, starring Martin Vaughan and Tom Burlinson. The director was Simon Wincer who later made "Free Willy," in 1993. Several books have been authored..."Phar Lap" by Geoff Armstrong and Peter Thompson and "Phar Lap: True Legend" by Michael Reason. The champion was inducted into the Australian Racing Hall of Fame, one of five charter members honored. Blood-Horse magazine ranked Phar Lap number 22 of the top 100 U.S. thoroughbred champions of the 20th Century. In a bit of trivia...A popular Australian song was written at the time of his passing, "Phar Lap-Farewell To You."The Infamous Phar Lap was a champion Thoroughbred racehorse whose achievements captured the public's imagination during the Great Depression. Foaled in New Zealand, he was trained and raced in Australia by Harry Telford. Dominated Australian racing with a distinguished career, winning a Melbourne Cup, two Cox Plates, an AJC Derby, and 19 other weight for age races. Won the Agua Caliente Handicap in Tijuana, Mexico, in track-record time in his final race. After a sudden and mysterious illness, died in 1932. Was the third highest stakes-winner in the world.
His mounted hide is displayed at the Melbourne Museum {is a natural and cultural history museum located in the Carlton Gardens in Melbourne Australia, adjacent to the Royal Exhibition Building}, his skeleton is at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa and his heart is at the National Museum of Australia storage annexe in Mitchell, Canberra
Early on 5 April 1932, the horse's strapper for the North American visit, Tommy Woodcock, found him in severe pain and with a high temperature. Within a few hours, Phar Lap haemorrhaged to death. An autopsy revealed that the horse's stomach and intestines were inflamed, leading many to believe the horse had been deliberately poisoned. There have been alternative theories, including accidental poisoning from lead insecticide and a stomach condition. Not until the 1980s could the infection be formally identified.
In 2000, equine specialists studying the two necropsies concluded that Phar Lap probably died of duodenitis-proximal jejunitis, an acute gastroenteritis bacterial infection.
His mounted hide is displayed at the Melbourne Museum {is a natural and cultural history museum located in the Carlton Gardens in Melbourne Australia, adjacent to the Royal Exhibition Building}, his skeleton is at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa and his heart is at the National Museum of Australia storage annexe in Mitchell, Canberra
Early on 5 April 1932, the horse's strapper for the North American visit, Tommy Woodcock, found him in severe pain and with a high temperature. Within a few hours, Phar Lap haemorrhaged to death. An autopsy revealed that the horse's stomach and intestines were inflamed, leading many to believe the horse had been deliberately poisoned. There have been alternative theories, including accidental poisoning from lead insecticide and a stomach condition. Not until the 1980s could the infection be formally identified.
In 2000, equine specialists studying the two necropsies concluded that Phar Lap probably died of duodenitis-proximal jejunitis, an acute gastroenteritis bacterial infection.
Australian Racehorse. This big chestnut gelding with a name derived from the Thai word for lightning, "Phar Lap" is an Australian legend. Fifty years after his death, his mounted hide, the work of expert taxidermists in New York, the Jonas Brothers taking four months, created a masterpiece of taxidermy, which still attracts thousands each year to the National Museum in Melbourne. In his long career, this amazing equine, started 51 times, recording 37 wins, 2 second, 3 thirds and 9 unplaced runs. However, he is remembered in America for only one race and the mysterious manner of his death. The horse had won every major race in Australia...Melbourne Cup, AJC Derby, Victoria Derby, WS Cox Plate, (twice) however, the purses were small. Phar Lap's owner, American born business man, David Davis, had his eye set on the rich American horse racing circuit and a dream of garnering larger purses. In 1932, the horse was loaded aboard a ship for his ill fated sea voyage to San Diego. Phar Lap was entered to run in the Agua Caliente Handicap, at an American owned track located in Mexico, (Caliente now defunct) a casino-resort complex located a few miles south of the city. The race at that time paid the largest purse in the world paired down due to the depression from one hundred thousand to fifty. Phar Lap, although overweight and racing against top class horses, won by two lengths while smashing the course record. He was taken to a horse farm in northern California located in Menlo Park for boarding and further training while his owner arranged for additional race track appearances around the country. He would never race again as two weeks after arrival, the animal suddenly died. An autopsy indicated an enlarged heart with gastric problems, but the precise cause was unclear fueling speculation to this day what illness claimed the horse. The Australians had a simple explanation, he was poisoned by gangsters controlling the American racing industry. However, Phar Lap's American tour continued, first to New York, where his hide was mounted and upon completion, the image, toured eastern American tracks before being returned to Australia. The mounting was displayed for a time at the Capitol Theatre in Melbourne before being taken to the National Museum of Victoria for permanent display. Others parts of Phar Lap...Heart to the Institute of Anatomy in Caberra and his skeleton to the Te Papa New Zealand National Museum in Wellington. Legacy...His story was made into a movie "Phar Lap" in 1983, starring Martin Vaughan and Tom Burlinson. The director was Simon Wincer who later made "Free Willy," in 1993. Several books have been authored..."Phar Lap" by Geoff Armstrong and Peter Thompson and "Phar Lap: True Legend" by Michael Reason. The champion was inducted into the Australian Racing Hall of Fame, one of five charter members honored. Blood-Horse magazine ranked Phar Lap number 22 of the top 100 U.S. thoroughbred champions of the 20th Century. In a bit of trivia...A popular Australian song was written at the time of his passing, "Phar Lap-Farewell To You."The Infamous Phar Lap was a champion Thoroughbred racehorse whose achievements captured the public's imagination during the Great Depression. Foaled in New Zealand, he was trained and raced in Australia by Harry Telford. Dominated Australian racing with a distinguished career, winning a Melbourne Cup, two Cox Plates, an AJC Derby, and 19 other weight for age races. Won the Agua Caliente Handicap in Tijuana, Mexico, in track-record time in his final race. After a sudden and mysterious illness, died in 1932. Was the third highest stakes-winner in the world.
His mounted hide is displayed at the Melbourne Museum {is a natural and cultural history museum located in the Carlton Gardens in Melbourne Australia, adjacent to the Royal Exhibition Building}, his skeleton is at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa and his heart is at the National Museum of Australia storage annexe in Mitchell, Canberra
Early on 5 April 1932, the horse's strapper for the North American visit, Tommy Woodcock, found him in severe pain and with a high temperature. Within a few hours, Phar Lap haemorrhaged to death. An autopsy revealed that the horse's stomach and intestines were inflamed, leading many to believe the horse had been deliberately poisoned. There have been alternative theories, including accidental poisoning from lead insecticide and a stomach condition. Not until the 1980s could the infection be formally identified.
In 2000, equine specialists studying the two necropsies concluded that Phar Lap probably died of duodenitis-proximal jejunitis, an acute gastroenteritis bacterial infection.
His mounted hide is displayed at the Melbourne Museum {is a natural and cultural history museum located in the Carlton Gardens in Melbourne Australia, adjacent to the Royal Exhibition Building}, his skeleton is at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa and his heart is at the National Museum of Australia storage annexe in Mitchell, Canberra
Early on 5 April 1932, the horse's strapper for the North American visit, Tommy Woodcock, found him in severe pain and with a high temperature. Within a few hours, Phar Lap haemorrhaged to death. An autopsy revealed that the horse's stomach and intestines were inflamed, leading many to believe the horse had been deliberately poisoned. There have been alternative theories, including accidental poisoning from lead insecticide and a stomach condition. Not until the 1980s could the infection be formally identified.
In 2000, equine specialists studying the two necropsies concluded that Phar Lap probably died of duodenitis-proximal jejunitis, an acute gastroenteritis bacterial infection.
