Criminals tried to shoot Phar Lap on the morning of Saturday 1 November 1930 after he had finished track work. They missed, and later that day he won the Melbourne Stakes, and three days later the Melbourne Cup as odds-on favourite at 8 to 11.
03 Nov 1930 - SHOT FIRED AT PHAR LAP.
Adaminaby racecourse, in the Snowy River, became 1932 Mexico, and Phar Lap's emotional death was recreated at the Highlands Equestrian Centre in Sutton Forest, two hours south of Sydney.
The official autopsy determined that the horse died through “some poison substance in his stomach.” Experts from the U.S. Bureau of Food and Drugs conducted an investigation and determined that lead arsenate sprayed on oak trees on the ranch was spread by the wind and into the stable of Phar Lap, causing his death.
Woodcock trained Phar Lap and he won the rich Agua Caliente Handicap. Shortly afterwards, on 5 April 1932, Phar Lap suddenly died in Menlo Park, California. Always devoted to the horse, Woodcock was with Phar Lap in his final moments. In 1946, Woodcock was initiated into Freemasonry, within the Smithfield Lodge.
Phar Lap's Achievements and statistics
Phar Lap ended his brief career with an incredible 37 wins from 51 starts, which is a heavy load for just a five-year-old. He won $66,738, which in the 1930's was a very healthy sum. He's rated as the 22nd top US racehorse of all time, despite having only one run in North America.
It showed that Phar Lap was given tonics designed to boost his performance that included arsenic, strychnine, cocaine and caffeine. The find gave credence to Woodcock's deathbed admission in 1985 that Phar Lap may have been given an overdose of a tonic before the horse died in 1932.
Sadly, Phar Lap died on April 5, 1932 at only five years old. Woodcock found the horse in severe pain and running a high temperature. Within a few hours, Phar Lap died in Woodcock's arms. An autopsy was performed and it was revealed that the gelding's stomach and intestines were inflamed.
Phar Lap was initially a failure as a racehorse, losing his first four races. However, in his four year career, Phar Lap won 37 of the 51 races in which he was entered, including the 1930 Melbourne Cup. He won 32 of his last 35 races.
Phar Lap Wins the 1930 Melbourne Cup | National Film and Sound Archive of Australia.
Davis to pay the £30 entry fee into 1929 Australian Derby to be run at Randwick Racecourse in Sydney. The film shows the Australian Derby as Phar Lap's first win, although his first win was actually six months earlier in the RRC Maiden Juvenile Handicap at Sydney's other main racecourse Rosehill Racecourse.
When Silver Hawk won the Balwyn Handicap at Caulfield in 1953, it was reported in the press as Harry Telford's first win in Melbourne for 14 years. Telford retired from racing in 1957 and died in 1960. References: Reason, Michael, 2005, Phar Lap: A True Legend, Museum Victoria, Melbourne (revised edition 2009).
Ridden by his jockey, Ken Pike, Phar Lap won the 1930 Melbourne Cup by three lengths. He also competed in 1929 and 1931 but was handicapped because he was the favourite to win.
ON THE MORNING of Tuesday, 5 April 1932, Phar Lap, the racehorse legend, mysteriously collapsed at a farm outside San Francisco 16 days after he won the Agua Caliente handicap in Tijuana, Mexico.
Amazingly, he won on all four days of the Flemington Spring Carnival. He followed up his 1930 victory by running eighth in the Cup in 1931 under a crushing 68 kg, the heaviest weight ever carried in the race. Other horses have won multiple Melbourne Cups, but few have eclipsed Phar Lap in Cup folklore.
Phar Lap ran in the Melbourne Cup three times between 1929 and 1931. However, his only win in the race came during his incredible 1930 season, when he also won the Cox Plate and 14 other weight-for-age races.
He weighed in at just over 600kg. Therefore to win the 1931 Melbourne Cup, Phar Lap had to carry his massive frame plus another 11.5% of his body weight.
Prophetic words. The towering records of both champions underscore their superiority, both overall and at The Valley. Phar Lap had 51 starts for 37 wins, three seconds and two thirds. Winx had 43 starts for 37 wins and three seconds.
Australian's hearts swelled with pride when Phar Lap won what would sadly be his last race at the Agua Caliente resort in Mexico. This was his first race in North America and were it not for his untimely death, he would have taken the US by storm.
The chestnut gelding Phar Lap was born in New Zealand but raced in Victoria and New South Wales in the 1920s and 1930s. His victory in the Melbourne Cup in 1930, carrying the considerable weight of 65.6 kg, captured the imagination of Australians struggling though the Great Depression.
Phar Lap passed the second horse, Reveille Boy, the mobs favourite, and with a blistering burst of speed, he won the race by three lengths. Francis P.
Bred by Alick Roberts at Seadown Stud, near Timaru, Phar Lap was sold to Australia as a yearling in 1928 for 160 guineas, and never raced in New Zealand.
5 April 1932
Phar Lap arrived in Australia as a two-year-old. His name meant 'lightning' in the Thai language, and he lived up to it with his ability to finish races with a surge of speed. He was no looker, with warts all over his head.
LAP, PHAR (1926-32), sporting personality, business associate of modest speculators and national hero, was born on 4 October 1926 at Timaru, New Zealand, the second of eight children of Night Raid and his wife Entreaty, nee Prayer Wheel.
Phar Lap was born in Timaru, New Zealand, on 4 October 1926, a rich red chestnut gelding who stood 17 hands high.