It is a 74-year-old mystery involving a murdered champion. What could be more titillating?
On page 34 of this week’s Producer, you’ll find a story about Phar Lap, the legendary Australian racehorse. The chestnut champion is in the news because scientists have new evidence about his death in 1932.
Phar Lap was a national Australian hero in the Depression years. He won 37 of 51 races started, including every major race in Australia, some of them twice. Like many lovable champions, Phar Lap didn’t have a particularly auspicious start to his career. According to the Museum Victoria in Melbourne, he was an ugly colt who sold for about $140 Cdn. He finished last in his first race, and the next few weren’t much better.
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Eventually Phar Lap hit his stride. In 1930-31, he won 14 races in a row, many by several lengths. “Phar Lap first, daylight second” was a popular saying of the day, according to the museum.
Phar Lap needed new frontiers to conquer, so his owner entered him in the Agua Caliente in Tijuana, Mexico, which, in 1932, had the largest purse in North America. Despite the handicaps of unfamiliar conditions, extra assigned weight and a sore foot, Phar Lap won by two lengths and set a track record.
A few days later, at a stable near San Francisco, the six-year-old champion died an agonizing death. Gangsters who stood to lose in racetrack betting were blamed.
Phar Lap’s heart, which weighed an astonishing 6.2 kilograms (normal size is about 3.2 kg) was preserved and a taxidermist handled his body. That’s how modern scientists were able to obtain a piece of the horse’s skin and analyze it using a synchrotron. Last week, they concluded the horse died of arsenic poisoning.
Yet the mystery remains. Was “Big Red” poisoned by gangsters? Or was he accidentally killed by his handlers? The plot thickened once again when old stories surfaced about the trainer, Tommy Woodcock.
According to The Australian newspaper, Woodcock allegedly dosed Phar Lap regularly with Fowler’s Solution, a mixture of potassium arsenate, plus a few other ingredients including strychnine.
Though prohibited now, such tonics weren’t unusual in racing circles at the time, the Australian reported. This particular one was said to stimulate appetite and raise red cell counts, allowing more oxygen in the blood. Quite a handy thing for a racehorse.
Woodcock’s devotion to Phar Lap was legendary, so if he did have a hand in the horse’s sad demise, it had to have been accidental. Perhaps it’s more palatable after all to blame the nameless, faceless gangsters of long ago, and continue to acknowledge Phar Lap’s legendary place as a champion.
