W.S. Cox Plate Legend - Phar Lap

There have been many superlatives used to describe Phar Lap; the giant New Zealand bred gelding which dominated Australian racing and beat the best in the world at Agua Caliente. He was more than just another champion racehorse. He played the role of hero to a people struggling with the effects of the Great Depression. He lifted their spirits and gave them respite from the difficult times of unemployment and food shortages. Australians love a battler, and here was a horse purchased for 160 guineas, not only beating the best but annihilating them, sometimes by up to 20 lengths.

While best remembered for his wins in the Melbourne Cup and Agua Caliente Handicap, he was also a dual winner of the W.S. Cox Plate in 1930 and 1931. His 1930 Spring Carnival form was astounding, as he followed success in the W.S. Cox Plate with wins on all four days of the Flemington Carnival, including an effortless victory in the Melbourne Cup carrying 62.5kg.

With a crowd of 19,490 people on course, Phar Lap started a short-priced 1/7 favourite, and he was the centre of attention wherever he went. Success was a foregone conclusion, and the expectation was met when the public idol scored an effortless win by four lengths.

Such was the ease of the win and the public's expectation of it happening, it hardly made headlines, with The Herald reporting nonchalantly… "Phar Lap had his first outing at Moonee Valley in the W.S. Cox Plate, and the race proved a straightforward task for him to win."

He came back a year later to contest the 1931 edition of the W.S. Cox Plate, and after six wins in as many starts, he was the shortest-priced favourite (again) in the history of the race, at 1/14. Once again, The Herald was brief and to the point…

"Phar Lap got away slowly. He was last for the first half-furlong then Pike allowed him to stride out on the outside of the field. His gigantic strides quickly carried him to the front. From then on the race was simply a procession. Phar Lap was always travelling leisurely in front."

From the beginning, drama followed him; the attempt on his life, before the 1930 Melbourne Cup, to his untimely, and controversial death. It has been a matter for much conjecture; although recent scientific evidence suggests he died from an overdose of arsenic.

Phar Lap's remains were dispersed across the globe. His mounted hide went to the Museum of Victoria in Melbourne, the skeleton to the National Museum of New Zealand in Wellington and the heart to the Australian Institute of Anatomy. Phar Lap was an inaugural inductee into the Australian Racing Hall of Fame in 2001 and gained legend status in 2007.

"Big Red" stands tall as Australia's greatest equine hero – on and off the track – and is the most famous winner of the Cox Plate.

A horse of a generation, that transcended racing.