Australian Racehorse. This big chestnut gelding with a name derived from the Thai word for lightning, "Phar Lap" is an Australian legend. Fifty years after his death, his mounted hide, the work of expert taxidermists in New York, the Jonas Brothers taking four months, created a masterpiece of taxidermy, which still attracts thousands each year to the National Museum in Melbourne. In his long career, this amazing equine, started 51 times, recording 37 wins, 2 second, 3 thirds and 9 unplaced runs. However, he is remembered in America for only one race and the mysterious manner of his death. The horse had won every major race in Australia...Melbourne Cup, AJC Derby, Victoria Derby, WS Cox Plate, (twice) however, the purses were small. Phar Lap's owner, American born business man, David Davis, had his eye set on the rich American horse racing circuit and a dream of garnering larger purses. In 1932, the horse was loaded aboard a ship for his ill fated sea voyage to San Diego. Phar Lap was entered to run in the Agua Caliente Handicap, at an American owned track located in Mexico, (Caliente now defunct) a casino-resort complex located a few miles south of the city. The race at that time paid the largest purse in the world paired down due to the depression from one hundred thousand to fifty. Phar Lap, although overweight and racing against top class horses, won by two lengths while smashing the course record. He was taken to a horse farm in northern California located in Menlo Park for boarding and further training while his owner arranged for additional race track appearances around the country. He would never race again as two weeks after arrival, the animal suddenly died. An autopsy indicated an enlarged heart with gastric problems, but the precise cause was unclear fueling speculation to this day what illness claimed the horse. The Australians had a simple explanation, he was poisoned by gangsters controlling the American racing industry. However, Phar Lap's American tour continued, first to New York, where his hide was mounted and upon completion, the image, toured eastern American tracks before being returned to Australia. The mounting was displayed for a time at the Capitol Theatre in Melbourne before being taken to the National Museum of Victoria for permanent display. Others parts of Phar Lap...Heart to the Institute of Anatomy in Caberra and his skeleton to the Te Papa New Zealand National Museum in Wellington. Legacy...His story was made into a movie "Phar Lap" in 1983, starring Martin Vaughan and Tom Burlinson. The director was Simon Wincer who later made "Free Willy," in 1993. Several books have been authored..."Phar Lap" by Geoff Armstrong and Peter Thompson and "Phar Lap: True Legend" by Michael Reason. The champion was inducted into the Australian Racing Hall of Fame, one of five charter members honored. Blood-Horse magazine ranked Phar Lap number 22 of the top 100 U.S. thoroughbred champions of the 20th Century. In a bit of trivia...A popular Australian song was written at the time of his passing, "Phar Lap-Farewell To You."The Infamous Phar Lap was a champion Thoroughbred racehorse whose achievements captured the public's imagination during the Great Depression. Foaled in New Zealand, he was trained and raced in Australia by Harry Telford. Dominated Australian racing with a distinguished career, winning a Melbourne Cup, two Cox Plates, an AJC Derby, and 19 other weight for age races. Won the Agua Caliente Handicap in Tijuana, Mexico, in track-record time in his final race. After a sudden and mysterious illness, died in 1932. Was the third highest stakes-winner in the world.
His mounted hide is displayed at the Melbourne Museum {is a natural and cultural history museum located in the Carlton Gardens in Melbourne Australia, adjacent to the Royal Exhibition Building}, his skeleton is at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa and his heart is at the National Museum of Australia storage annexe in Mitchell, Canberra
Early on 5 April 1932, the horse's strapper for the North American visit, Tommy Woodcock, found him in severe pain and with a high temperature. Within a few hours, Phar Lap haemorrhaged to death. An autopsy revealed that the horse's stomach and intestines were inflamed, leading many to believe the horse had been deliberately poisoned. There have been alternative theories, including accidental poisoning from lead insecticide and a stomach condition. Not until the 1980s could the infection be formally identified.
In 2000, equine specialists studying the two necropsies concluded that Phar Lap probably died of duodenitis-proximal jejunitis, an acute gastroenteritis bacterial infection.
Australian Racehorse. This big chestnut gelding with a name derived from the Thai word for lightning, "Phar Lap" is an Australian legend. Fifty years after his death, his mounted hide, the work of expert taxidermists in New York, the Jonas Brothers taking four months, created a masterpiece of taxidermy, which still attracts thousands each year to the National Museum in Melbourne. In his long career, this amazing equine, started 51 times, recording 37 wins, 2 second, 3 thirds and 9 unplaced runs. However, he is remembered in America for only one race and the mysterious manner of his death. The horse had won every major race in Australia...Melbourne Cup, AJC Derby, Victoria Derby, WS Cox Plate, (twice) however, the purses were small. Phar Lap's owner, American born business man, David Davis, had his eye set on the rich American horse racing circuit and a dream of garnering larger purses. In 1932, the horse was loaded aboard a ship for his ill fated sea voyage to San Diego. Phar Lap was entered to run in the Agua Caliente Handicap, at an American owned track located in Mexico, (Caliente now defunct) a casino-resort complex located a few miles south of the city. The race at that time paid the largest purse in the world paired down due to the depression from one hundred thousand to fifty. Phar Lap, although overweight and racing against top class horses, won by two lengths while smashing the course record. He was taken to a horse farm in northern California located in Menlo Park for boarding and further training while his owner arranged for additional race track appearances around the country. He would never race again as two weeks after arrival, the animal suddenly died. An autopsy indicated an enlarged heart with gastric problems, but the precise cause was unclear fueling speculation to this day what illness claimed the horse. The Australians had a simple explanation, he was poisoned by gangsters controlling the American racing industry. However, Phar Lap's American tour continued, first to New York, where his hide was mounted and upon completion, the image, toured eastern American tracks before being returned to Australia. The mounting was displayed for a time at the Capitol Theatre in Melbourne before being taken to the National Museum of Victoria for permanent display. Others parts of Phar Lap...Heart to the Institute of Anatomy in Caberra and his skeleton to the Te Papa New Zealand National Museum in Wellington. Legacy...His story was made into a movie "Phar Lap" in 1983, starring Martin Vaughan and Tom Burlinson. The director was Simon Wincer who later made "Free Willy," in 1993. Several books have been authored..."Phar Lap" by Geoff Armstrong and Peter Thompson and "Phar Lap: True Legend" by Michael Reason. The champion was inducted into the Australian Racing Hall of Fame, one of five charter members honored. Blood-Horse magazine ranked Phar Lap number 22 of the top 100 U.S. thoroughbred champions of the 20th Century. In a bit of trivia...A popular Australian song was written at the time of his passing, "Phar Lap-Farewell To You."The Infamous Phar Lap was a champion Thoroughbred racehorse whose achievements captured the public's imagination during the Great Depression. Foaled in New Zealand, he was trained and raced in Australia by Harry Telford. Dominated Australian racing with a distinguished career, winning a Melbourne Cup, two Cox Plates, an AJC Derby, and 19 other weight for age races. Won the Agua Caliente Handicap in Tijuana, Mexico, in track-record time in his final race. After a sudden and mysterious illness, died in 1932. Was the third highest stakes-winner in the world.
His mounted hide is displayed at the Melbourne Museum {is a natural and cultural history museum located in the Carlton Gardens in Melbourne Australia, adjacent to the Royal Exhibition Building}, his skeleton is at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa and his heart is at the National Museum of Australia storage annexe in Mitchell, Canberra
Early on 5 April 1932, the horse's strapper for the North American visit, Tommy Woodcock, found him in severe pain and with a high temperature. Within a few hours, Phar Lap haemorrhaged to death. An autopsy revealed that the horse's stomach and intestines were inflamed, leading many to believe the horse had been deliberately poisoned. There have been alternative theories, including accidental poisoning from lead insecticide and a stomach condition. Not until the 1980s could the infection be formally identified.
In 2000, equine specialists studying the two necropsies concluded that Phar Lap probably died of duodenitis-proximal jejunitis, an acute gastroenteritis bacterial infection.
Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/9204/phar-lap: accessed
), memorial page for Phar Lap (4 Oct 1926–5 Apr 1932), Find a Grave Memorial ID 9204;
Animal/Pet;
Maintained by Shane König von Castlemaine (contributor 49774181).
Add Photos for Phar Lap
Fulfill Photo Request for Phar Lap
Photo Request Fulfilled
Thank you for fulfilling this photo request. An email has been sent to the person who requested the photo informing them that you have fulfilled their request
There is an open photo request for this memorial
Are you adding a grave photo that will fulfill this request?
Oops, some error occurred while uploading your photo(s).
Oops, something didn't work. Close this window, and upload the photo(s) again.
Make sure that the file is a photo. Photos larger than 8Mb will be reduced.
All photos uploaded successfully, click on the <b>Done button</b> to see the photos in the gallery.
General photo guidelines:
Photos larger than 8.0 MB will be optimized and reduced.
Each contributor can upload a maximum of 5 photos for a memorial.
A memorial can have a maximum of 20 photos from all contributors.
The sponsor of a memorial may add an additional 10 photos (for a total of 30 on the memorial).
Include gps location with grave photos where possible.
No animated GIFs, photos with additional graphics (borders, embellishments.)
There is no plot information for this memorial. Your photo request is more likely to be fulfilled if you contact the cemetery to get the plot information and include it with your request.
You are only allowed to leave one flower per day for any given memorial.
Memorial Photos
This is a carousel with slides. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate, or jump to a slide with the slide dots. Use Escape keyboard button or the Close button to close the carousel.
Quickly see who the memorial is for and when they lived and died and where they are buried.
Show Map
If the memorial includes GPS coordinates, simply click 'Show Map' to view the gravesite location within the cemetery. If no GPS coordinates are available, you can contribute by adding them if you know the precise location.
Photos
For memorials with more than one photo, additional photos will appear here or on the photos tab.
Photos Tab
All photos appear on this tab and here you can update the sort order of photos on memorials you manage. To view a photo in more detail or edit captions for photos you added, click the photo to open the photo viewer.
Flowers
Flowers added to the memorial appear on the bottom of the memorial or here on the Flowers tab. To add a flower, click the Leave a Flower button.
Family Members
Family members linked to this person will appear here.
Related searches
Use the links under See more… to quickly search for other people with the same last name in the same cemetery, city, county, etc.
Sponsor This Memorial
Remove advertising from a memorial by sponsoring it for just $5. Previously sponsored memorials or famous memorials will not have this option.
Share
Share this memorial using social media sites or email.
Save to
Save to an Ancestry Tree, a virtual cemetery, your clipboard for pasting or Print.
Edit or Suggest Edit
Edit a memorial you manage or suggest changes to the memorial manager.
Have Feedback
Thanks for using Find a Grave, if you have any feedback we would love to hear from you.
You may not upload any more photos to this memorial
"Unsupported file type"
Uploading...
Waiting...
Success
Failed
This photo was not uploaded because this memorial already has photos
This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded photos to this memorial
This photo was not uploaded because this memorial already has photos
This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded photos to this memorial
Invalid File Type
Uploading 1 Photo
Uploading 2 Photos
1 Photo Uploaded
2 Photos Uploaded
Added by
GREAT NEWS! There is 1 volunteer for this cemetery.
Sorry! There are no volunteers for this cemetery. Continuing with this request will add an alert to the cemetery page and any new volunteers will have the opportunity to fulfill your request.
Enter numeric value
Enter memorial Id
Year should not be greater than current year
Invalid memorial
Duplicate entry for memorial
You have chosen this person to be their own family member.
Reported!
This relationship is not possible based on lifespan dates.
0% Complete
Saved
Sign in or Register
Sign in to Find a Grave
Sign-in to link to existing account
There is a problem with your email/password.
There is a problem with your email/password.
There is a problem with your email/password.
We encountered an unknown problem. Please wait a few minutes and try again. If the problem persists contact Find a Grave.
We’ve updated the security on the site. Please reset your password.
Your account has been locked for 30 minutes due to too many failed sign in attempts. Please contact Find a Grave at [email protected] if you need help resetting your password.
This account has been disabled. If you have questions, please contact [email protected]
This account has been disabled. If you have questions, please contact [email protected]
Email not found
Please complete the captcha to let us know you are a real person.
Sign in to your existing Find a Grave account. You’ll only have to do this once—after your accounts are connected, you can sign in using your Ancestry sign in or your Find a Grave sign in.
We found an existing Find a Grave account associated with your email address. Sign in below with your Find a Grave credentials to link your Ancestry account. After your accounts are connected you can sign in using either account.
Please enter your email to sign in.
Please enter your password to sign in.
Please enter your email and password to sign in.
There is a problem with your email/password.
A system error has occurred. Please try again later.
A password reset email has been sent to EmailID. If you don't see an email, please check your spam folder.
We encountered an unknown problem. Please wait a few minutes and try again. If the problem persists contact Find a Grave.
Password Reset
Please enter your email address and we will send you an email with a reset password code.
Registration Options
Welcome to Find a Grave
Create your free account by choosing an option below.
or
Ancestry account link
To create your account, Ancestry will share your name and email address with Find a Grave. To continue choose an option below.
or
If you already have a Find a Grave account, please sign in to link to Ancestry®.
New Member Registration
Email is mandatory
Email and Password are mandatory
This account already exists, but the email address still needs to be confirmed. Resend Activation Email
Your password is not strong enough
Invalid Email
You must agree to Terms and Conditions
Account already exists
Please check the I'm not a robot checkbox
Internal Server error occurred
If you want to be a Photo Volunteer you must enter a ZIP Code or select your location on the map
You must select an email preference
We have sent you an activation email
Your new password must contain one or more uppercase and lowercase letters, and one or more numbers or special characters.
We just emailed an activation code to
Please check your email and click on the link to activate your account.
cemeteries found in will be saved to your photo volunteer list.
cemeteries found within miles of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list.
cemeteries found within kilometers of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list.
Within 5 miles of your location.
Within 5 kilometers of your location.
0 cemeteries found in .
0 cemeteries found.
Add a cemetery to fulfill photo requests
You can customize the cemeteries you volunteer for by selecting or deselecting below.
Search above to list available cemeteries.
Getting location…
Loading...
Loading...
No cemeteries found
Find a Grave Video Tutorials
Default Language
Translation on Find a Grave is an ongoing project. If you notice a problem with the translation, please send a message to [email protected] and include a link to the page and details about the problem. Thanks for your help!
Preferred Language
We have set your language to based on information from your browser.