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Phar Lap
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Feb 15, 2019 12:39:10   #
Rob48 Loc: Portland, ME
 
My admiration and respect for Secretariat knows no bounds, and there have been many other great racehorses, Seabiscuit and Man-O-War among them. There is another horse most people in this country have never heard of, and he was a champion---Phar Lap. One of the things which made Phar Lap such a tremendous race horse was that his heart, like Secretariat's, was twice the size that of a normal racehorse.
Like Secretariat, Phar Lap was loved by a nation and was immortalized in a poem by Vivienne McCredie.

...Some names are so familiar
It’s easy to recall – Like Rising Fast and Kiwi,
and The greatest one of all for Phar Lap is synonymous
With all that’s brave and bold –
And little men can treasure all
The stories that are told.

When Phar Lap graced the turf, and won,
We Aussies felt elation –
We loved him, – so in death, he then
Was mourned by all the nation. ...


(Download)

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Feb 15, 2019 12:58:51   #
jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY
 
Good movie, too.

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Feb 15, 2019 13:00:04   #
Anvil Loc: Loveland, CO
 
There was also a movie made, in 1983 -- Phar Lap. As I recall, from the movie, the horse was going to be named Far Lap, until it was pointed out that an odd number of letters was better. So, it was changed to Phar Lap.

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Feb 15, 2019 16:06:18   #
Rob48 Loc: Portland, ME
 
jerryc41 wrote:
Good movie, too.


Yes, it was, Jerry.

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Feb 15, 2019 16:06:38   #
Rob48 Loc: Portland, ME
 
Anvil wrote:
There was also a movie made, in 1983 -- Phar Lap. As I recall, from the movie, the horse was going to be named Far Lap, until it was pointed out that an odd number of letters was better. So, it was changed to Phar Lap.



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Feb 16, 2019 00:13:19   #
TonyP Loc: New Zealand
 
Rob48 wrote:


Phar Lap was born and bred in New Zealand and didnt go to Australia until he was sold in NZ as a 2 year old during the Depression.
He died in the US after beating the best US horses at the time with rumours it was a poisoning by the 'Mob'. Nothing ever proved though.
His skeleton is in the Wellington New Zealand, Te Papa museum.
(I know all this as coincidentally I came across the 'monument' to Phar Lap during a recent visit to Te Papa Museum).

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Feb 16, 2019 09:11:11   #
edevelleonard
 
Yes, a great race horse. This is a picture of his statute at the Timaru race course in Timaru, South Canterbury, on our 2015 trip to NZ. Beautiful horse, beautiful place.

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Feb 16, 2019 11:04:40   #
Rob48 Loc: Portland, ME
 
TonyP wrote:
Phar Lap was born and bred in New Zealand and didnt go to Australia until he was sold in NZ as a 2 year old during the Depression.
He died in the US after beating the best US horses at the time with rumours it was a poisoning by the 'Mob'. Nothing ever proved though.
His skeleton is in the Wellington New Zealand, Te Papa museum.
(I know all this as coincidentally I came across the 'monument' to Phar Lap during a recent visit to Te Papa Museum).


Thank you very much, Tony; I appreciate the information.

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Feb 16, 2019 11:06:13   #
Rob48 Loc: Portland, ME
 
edevelleonard wrote:
Yes, a great race horse. This is a picture of his statute at the Timaru race course in Timaru, South Canterbury, on our 2015 trip to NZ. Beautiful horse, beautiful place.



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Feb 16, 2019 11:43:09   #
nadelewitz Loc: Ithaca NY
 
Have to look for the movie about Phar Lap. I think I did see it years ago. "Seabiscuit" and "Secretariat" are two of the movies that I can't over-watch.
Unfortunately, "Ruffian" shows why horse racing has a too-common terrible side as well.

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Feb 16, 2019 16:42:09   #
JeffDavidson Loc: Originally Detroit Now Los Angeles
 
There was a great movie about Phar Lap - https://www.google.com/search?source=hp&ei=S31oXPfDDKPUjwSxyLbgDA&q=movie+about+phar+lap&btnK=Google+Search&oq=movie+about+phar+lap&gs_l=psy-ab.3..0i22i30l3.1246454.1253492..1254054...0.0..0.152.2574.0j20......0....1..gws-wiz.....0..0j0i131j0i10.eBiB5CEf300
Google info.

I was at Churchill Downs when Secretariat ran. It wasn't much of a race since he won by 2-1/2 lengths and world record time.

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Feb 16, 2019 19:17:22   #
Rob48 Loc: Portland, ME
 
JeffDavidson wrote:
There was a great movie about Phar Lap - https://www.google.com/search?source=hp&ei=S31oXPfDDKPUjwSxyLbgDA&q=movie+about+phar+lap&btnK=Google+Search&oq=movie+about+phar+lap&gs_l=psy-ab.3..0i22i30l3.1246454.1253492..1254054...0.0..0.152.2574.0j20......0....1..gws-wiz.....0..0j0i131j0i10.eBiB5CEf300
Google info.

I was at Churchill Downs when Secretariat ran. It wasn't much of a race since he won by 2-1/2 lengths and world record time.


I really want to see this movie now. It's interesting that when Secretariat, unlike all his other races, immediately took the lead at the Belmont, he won by 31 1/2 lengths. According to the Daily Racing Form, a length is 8 feet, so Secretariat won by 252 feet.

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Feb 16, 2019 19:55:30   #
bob44044 Loc: Ohio
 
The story of Phar Lap has all the drama of a soap opera, a murder mystery all rolled into one.

Phar Lap was foaled in New Zealand in 1926 and mostly raced in Australia. He dominated Australian racing, winning major races such as The Melbourne Cup, two Cox Plates, The Futurity Stakes and an AJC Derby. In the final race of his career, he won the Agua Caliente Stakes in Mexico and broke the track record while doing so. He was victorious in 37 of 51 races.

Phar Lap was sired by Night Raid and Australian trainer Harry Telford persuaded American businessman David Davis to buy the colt at auction based on his pedigree. When the horse was purchased the partners thought they got the deal of a lifetime until the horse arrived. Phar Lap was gangly, his face covered in warts and he had an awkward gait. His first few races did nothing to impress his investors either. In his maiden race, he ran dead last and didn't win in any of his next three races to boot. But on April 27, 1929, Phar Lap won his first race at Rosehill. He ran second in The Chelmsford Stakes at Randwick and the racing community started treating him with respect.

Someone tried to shoot Phar Lap on a sunny morning in 1930, after a workout. Fortunately, they missed and that afternoon he won the Melbourne Stakes and only three days later, he won The Melbourne Cup. In 1930-31, Phar Lap put together 14 wins in a row.

On the morning of April 5, 1932, in Atherton, CA., Phar Lap was found in his stall in severe pain and feverish. Within several hours, he was dead. A necropsy revealed the horse's stomach and intestines were inflamed, leading many to believe he was deliberately poisoned. But there were alternative theories, including accidental poisoning from insecticide or just a stomach condition.

In 2006, Australian Synchrotron Research scientists concluded Phar Lap was poisoned with a large, single dose of arsenic, 30-40 hours before his death. The supporting theory was that the horse was killed on the orders of U.S. gangsters who feared the Melbourne Cup-winning champion would put a large dent in their illegal bookmaking operations. No evidence of this theory was ever found, however, and others still speculate it was an accidental poisoning.

But Australian veterinarian Percy Sykes believes deliberate poisoning didn't cause the death of Phar Lap. He said, "In those days, arsenic was quite a common tonic, usually given in the form of a solution. It was so common that I'd reckon 90% of the horses had arsenic in their system." The debate continues to this day and any definite answer or the source of the poisoning will likely never be determined.

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Feb 17, 2019 01:57:48   #
SteveR Loc: Michigan
 
I'm going to be 70 this year, and in those 70 years Secretariat is the one horse that has just blown the competition out of the water. I was in college when he was running and we watched his races just because he was a once in a lifetime extraordinary athlete. He was amazing.

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Feb 17, 2019 09:39:48   #
billb800si
 
Rob48 wrote:


Used to be an avid follower of Thoroughbreds until I really learned what goes on behind closed doors. Too many losers end up in slaughter houses. And there's many more losers than winners.
Our racing industry has a dark side that many aren't aware of. Sad................

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