When you love horses, you love all horses. It matters not the breed, the size, nor the temperament... but sometimes a horse comes along that touches the heart like no other, one that reaches to the core of you and grabs your soul. That horse for me is Phar Lap.
I've never met Phar Lap, he was a horse that existed long before my time on earth, but it's a testament to him that over seventy years after his passing, his spirit and his heart still reach out to people not only across the globe but also across time.
We all have our horse heroes, some fictitious and some that are legends in history and Phar Lap is a legend that no horse lover can ever forget. Perhaps it was because he was seen as an underdog, bought cheaply for 336.00 Australian dollars, a far cry from the blue-blooded racehorse used to gracing the racetracks of Australia? Or perhaps it was because he became a people's champion? Or maybe, just maybe, it had something to do with that great big heart of his?
At 17 hands, Phar Lap was a big horse but when he arrived in Australia, he was scrawny and covered with warts. His new owner, David Davis, was not at all pleased with his trainer Harry Telford, who had purchased the horse on Davis's behalf. In fact Davis was so unimpressed he leased the horse to Harry for three years, ensuring that the horse's board and lodgings would not come out of his own pocket!
Telford however believed that the big gelding had breeding and he was determined to prove it. Starting Phar Lap on a brutal training regime, Telford worked the horse near to death. The horse's only saving grace was a young strapper named Tommy Woodcock. Tommy and Bobby (Phar Lap's stable name), became so close and formed such a bond, that Phar Lap wouldn't eat unless Tommy was nearby.
Despite Telford's training, Phar Lap still remained disinterested and lazy about the world of racing and in 1929, Phar Lap remained unplaced. Tommy decided to give Phar Lap a challenge. While out training him one day, instead of having him run beside another horse, he held Bobby back and then asked him to catch-up. Bobby began to fly! Phar Lap is Thai for Lightning, the horse was finally living up to his name.
From then onwards Phar Lap never looked back. In his four years of racing, this wonderful horse notched up 37 wins and fourteen of those were all in a row. But sadly, when something is too good, there are those that have to bring it down.
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