FEATURE
No horse has ever achieved the feat before and none since. If for no other reason, Phar Lap’s winning sequence over eight days against the best on offer demands the highest praise. But with Phar Lap, there is more to it. His arrival came at a time when Australia, as a nation, was on its knees. Outside of World Wars I and II, it was arguably the start of the toughest economic period in Australian history, the Great Depression, triggered by the US stock market crash of 1929. Just over 30% of the workforce was unemployed, and the Great Depression had set in. There was little to get excited about, and Phar Lap became a welcome distraction. He became the bright light on what was clearly a dark horizon. His 1930 Cup victory was surrounded by high drama, having been shot at only days before in Manchester Grove, adjacent to Caulfield Racecourse, following
trackwork. It had all the hallmarks of a gangster movie, with the good guys looking to outmanoeuvre the not-so-good guys. Naturally, it was all about money, with Phar Lap set to empty the bags of bookmakers had he secured a Melbourne Cup victory. After winning the Melbourne Stakes on Derby Day, he was taken to VRC Committeeman Guy Raymond’s St Albans Stud in Geelong. Three days later, he arrived at Australia’s biggest racing event, the Melbourne Cup, with a police escort. However, he nearly missed it because the horse float wouldn’t start. His story had all the hallmarks of a thriller: drama, suspense, brilliance, and romance. Romance, in that Australians loved Phar Lap. He was their hero. He also had an inseparable bond with his handler, Tommy Woodcock, who knew Phar Lap better than anyone. The groom’s Melbourne Cup trophy, presented each
year by the VRC, is named in honour of Tommy Woodcock. But ultimately, Phar Lap’s story is about the ugly duckling turning into a swan, more noticeably a colossus that took on all comers and made them look second-rate in the process. They changed the rules of racing to curtail his success, yet still couldn’t beat him. After a sequence of autumn victories, including an extraordinary win in the Futurity Stakes at Caulfield, Phar Lap would return to Flemington in 1931 in an attempt to win back-to-back Cups. However, with an allotted 10 stone 10 pounds, the task was somewhat beyond even the master. The previous highest weight to victory was his forebear, Carbine (1890), carrying 10 stone five pounds. Under the watchful eye of Jim Pike, he was protected, and when the task appeared insurmountable, he was eased to finish eighth.
Crowds pack the Flemington straight to watch Phar Lap's historic 1930 Melbourne Cup win. (VRC Collection)
Fancy a Gallop? | 25
Made with FlippingBook Digital Publishing Software