Phar lap biography of donald

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It was then on to Moonee Valley and a repeat score in the W. S. Cox Plate, before moving on to Flemington and the Melbourne Stakes. Recently, a theory was espoused Phar Lap died from Duodenitis-Proximal jejunitis, a bacterial intestinal enteritis characterized by fever, increased heart rate, colic, build up of fluids in the stomach, perforation of the stomach, and ultimately, death, all the symptoms Phar Lap suffered.

Phar Lap was shipped up to Edward Perry's Atherton ranch, thirty miles south of San Francisco, California, for a rest while his future racing plans were considered. Accordingly, he was offered as lot 41 at the New Zealand Yearling Sales at Trentham racecourse in January of 1928.

In 1930 to 1931, Phar Lap won 14 races. The future legend was purchased for £160.

Striking appearance

Phar Lap was a rich red chestnut with a white star on his forehead. In January 1928 he was sent to the yearling thoroughbred sale at Trentham.

Sydney-based Australian trainer Harry Telford received a copy of the sale catalogue, and was impressed by the colt’s breeding.

He could not afford to purchase the colt himself, and so he approached American businessman David J Davis to finance the purchase.

Although initially reluctant to commit to the unseen horse, Davis eventually agreed to do so.

Given a good rest over the off season, and trained over the deep sandy hills of Australia's coast, Phar Lap came back at age four bigger, stronger, and nearly unbeatable. His substitute, Bobbie Lewis, was unable to restrain Phar Lap, and the mighty chestnut went straight to the lead and tried to make all the running in the two-mile race.

Two days after his Melbourne Cup victory, Phar Lap scored an easy win in the Linlithgow Stakes at Flemington, and two days after that, took the C.B. Fisher Plate at the same course. The mystery will probably never be solved. He came along at a time of deep economic depression, and his exploits elevated him to the status of an Australian cultural icon.

Surprisingly, Phar Lap was all out to hold off Concentrate by half a length. There was one great advantage in a neck like this in a big horse for it was not overweighted, and one reason for it was that he had been gelded. G. Andrews, 'Phar Lap (1926–1932)', People Australia, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://peopleaustralia.anu.edu.au/biography/phar-lap-27699/text35280, accessed 1 January 2026.

Phar Lap

Bred in New Zealand

Phar Lap was born at Seadown Stud in Timaru, New Zealand, on 4 October 1926.

Despite suffering some colic symptoms the morning of the race, and despite the fact he was not totally fit, he ran a wonderful race to lose by only a neck to the lightly-regarded Waterline. He was on the second place on the three races that he did not win.

Death

On April 5, 1932, Tommy Woodcock, who was Phar Lap’s strapper for the North America visit, found the horse in a compromising situation.

Trees around the stable where Phar Lap had been staying in the weeks since his victory in Mexico had, in the days before his death, been sprayed with an insecticide made up of an arsenic-based compound. On November 20, 1931, Phar Lap was loaded aboard the ship Ulimaroa and shipped across the Tasman Sea to New Zealand, where he would stay for several weeks before embarking on the long voyage to the United States.

She broke down after one race and was retired to the breeding shed. Then, the van carrying him to Flemington encountered engine trouble.