Phar Lap (4 October 1926 – 5 April 1932) was a New Zealand-born champion Australian Thoroughbred racehorse. Achieving great success during his distinguished career, his initial underdog status gave people hope during the early years of the Great Depression.[3] He won the Melbourne Cup, two Cox Plates, the Australian Derby, and 19 other weight-for-age races. He is universally revered as one of the greatest race horses of all time, not just in Australia but in the history of Thoroughbred horse racing.[4][5]
One of his greatest performances was winning the Agua Caliente Handicap in Mexico in track-record time in his final race.[6] He won in a different country, after a bad start many lengths behind the leaders, with no training before the race, and he split his hoof during the race.
After a sudden and mysterious illness, Phar Lap died in 1932 in Menlo Park, California.[7] At the time, he was the third-highest stakes-winner in the world. His mounted hide is displayed at the Melbourne Museum, his skeleton at the Museum of New Zealand, and his heart at the National Museum of Australia.[1][8]
- ^ a b "Phar Lap". The Australian Racing Museum. Retrieved 24 April 2009.
- ^ "Pedigree". Pedigreequery.com. 30 April 2007. Retrieved 6 May 2010.
- ^ "Phar Lap Forever". The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia. November 2017. p. 1. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
- ^ "Phar Lap". Thoroughbred Heritage. Retrieved 24 April 2009.
- ^ "Story of Phar Lap". pharlap.org.nz. Archived from the original on 29 August 2009. Retrieved 24 April 2009.
- ^ "Phar Lap, Agua Caliente". Museum of Victoria. p. 1. Archived from the original on 31 July 2008. Retrieved 24 April 2009.
- ^ Reason, Michael (2005). Phar Lap - A True Legend. Melbourne, Australia: Museum Victoria. pp. 35–36. ISBN 0-9577471-9-5.
- ^ "Phar Lap's heart at the National Museum of Australia". Archived from the original on 21 June 2014. Retrieved 19 December 2011.