Phar Lap
| Phar Lap | |
 Phar Lap at Flemington Racecourse c. 1930 |
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| Race: | English blood |
| Father: | Night raid |
| Mother: | Entreaty |
| Mother, father: | Winkie |
| Gender: | gelding |
| Year of birth: | 1926 |
| Year of death: | 1932 |
| Country: | New Zealand |
| Colour: | Fox |
| Breeder: | AF Roberts |
| Owner: | David J. Davis |
| Trainer: | Harry Telford |
| Record: | 51 starts: 37 wins, 5 places |
| Prize amount: | $ 332,250 |
| Greatest wins, titles and awards | |
| Greatest victories | |
| Melbourne Cup 1930 | |
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Infobox last modified on: December 7th, 2007. |
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Phar Lap was a horse born in 1926 that many consider to be the best Australian racehorse of all time. Born in New Zealand , it played a significant role in the Australian horse racing scene during its long and successful racing career and was sometimes called "the Australian wonder horse". It was also called "The Red Terror" or "Big Red", as the two most important US racehorses Man o 'War and Secretariat were called. Phar Lap's father was Night Raid from Great Britain (born 1918) and his mother Entreaty from New Zealand (born 1920).
New Zealand and Australia
Phar Lap was born in Timaru , New Zealand , in 1926 . His name means "lightning" in Thai. It was bought for 160 guineas and brought to Australia by its new owner, David J. Davis, originally from the United States. In 1930 he won the Melbourne Cup, and between 1930 and 1931 the horse won 14 races in a row. In 1930 someone tried to shoot him, presumably a bookmaker who had lost a lot of money to him.
America
For his last race, his owner took him to Tijuana , Mexico by ship to run in the Agua Caliente Handicap. The Agua Caliente was held in the Hipódromo de Agua Caliente and offered the highest exchange ever held in North America. Phar Lap won with a new course record, although he had to carry 58.5 kg. He was then taken to a ranch in Menlo Park , California while its owner tried to arrange new races for him.
On the morning of April 5, 1932, his trainer found him with an elevated temperature and apparently in great pain. After a few hours the horse died.
In his four year racing career, Phar Lap won 37 of his 51 races. From winning the PRC St. Leger Stakes to his last race in Mexico , Phar Lap won 32 of his 35 races. Of the others he was second in 2 races, only beaten by a head length, and in the Melbourne Cup of 1931 he was eighth, but had to carry 68 kg as a handicap. Phar Lap never had the opportunity to race against the leading American racehorse Equipoise , Horse of the Year 1932 and 1933.
Afterlife
After Phar Lap's death, the heart was sent to the Institute of Anatomy in Canberra , and the skeleton was given to the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa in New Zealand. Its fur was prepared and stuffed and exhibited in the Australian National Gallery in Melbourne. His heart weighed 6.2 kg, which is a lot since the average horse's heart weighs 3.2 kg. However, the heart of the famous Secretariat weighed 9.6 kg, which is a record to this day.
When news of Phar Lap's death reached Australia, many people mourned. Several books have been written about him and several films have been made about him, e.g. B. 1984 the movie Phar Lap - Legend of a Nation . Phar Lap was inducted into the Australian Racing Hall of Fame as one of five horses , along with racehorses Carbine, Tulloch, Bernborough and Kingston Town. In the ranking of the 100 most important racehorses of the twentieth century compiled by Blood-Horse Magazine, he ranks 22nd.
There was speculation as to the cause of his death, as an autopsy revealed that his bowels were infected. Many believed that the horse was poisoned. Theories have ranged from lead poisoning from lead-containing insecticides to natural causes such as bowel obstruction. Almost 80 years after Phar Lap's death, researchers announced in May 2010, after renewed scientific studies, that the cause of death had been clarified: the horse died of arsenic poisoning . However, it remained unclear whether the arsenic was added to improve performance or to harm the animal.
Web links
- Phar Lap at the Museum Victoria, Australia
- Phar Lap in the Internet Movie Database (IMDb).
- Phar Lap ( search ) in the National Library of Australia
Individual evidence
- ^ Phar Lap Horse Pedigree. Retrieved April 15, 2020 .
- ^ The Facts. (No longer available online.) Museum Victoria, archived from the original on March 3, 2009 ; accessed on May 10, 2018 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ SHOT FIRED AT PHAR LAP. In: Argus (Melbourne, Vic.: 1848-1957) . Melbourne, Vic. November 3, 1930, p. 9 ( gov.au [accessed April 15, 2020]).
- ^ National Film and Sound Archive of Australia: Phar Lap's Last Race: At Agua Caliente. April 16, 2020, accessed on April 15, 2020 .
- ↑ Cause of death finally clarified - racehorse died of arsenic
