Phar Lap – The Sad End Of Australia’s Greatest Race Horse

In the history of Australian horse racing there is no greater champion than Phar Lap. Bred in New Zealand, the great Phar Lap accomplished most of his success on the race tracks of Australia. He was able to win the Melbourne Cup, and he also won the Cox Plate twice. A dignified champion, Phar Lap was shipped to North America where he went on to capture the Agua Caliente Handicap in Tijuana, Mexico in 1932.

There may have been bold plans for Phar Lap to conquer America after his dominant Australian racing career; he was New Zealand-bred but never raced there. Those plans never came to be realized. On April 5, 1932, Phar Lap hemorrhaged to death in his stall. Later scientific analysis identified arsenic poisoning, but the source of the arsenic and whether the exposure was deliberate remain unresolved. That distinction is central to understanding the story.

Phar Lap Comes to North America

After winning major Australian races including the Melbourne Cup and two Cox Plates, there was little left for Phar Lap to accomplish in his homeland. Many did not know that Phar Lap was owned by an American businessman named David J. Davis. Davis had leased the horse to a trainer based in Sydney, Harry Telford. Some in Australia did not take kindly to Phar Lap’s success.

On the morning of November 1, 1930 Telford was preparing Phar Lap for the Melbourne Cup with a morning workout. Criminals were waiting. An unidentified group of assailants tried to shoot the horse. Their effort failed, and later that same day Phar Lap won the Melbourne Stakes. Just three days later the horse won the Melbourne Cup, but the circumstances behind the failed assassination attempt have never been full revealed.

Most speculated that those who tried to kill the great horse were making an attempt to influence the outcome of the Melbourne Cup. The event was mostly forgotten by the time 1932 rolled around, but owner Davis may have remembered it as he decided to take the horse out of Australia. By that time, Telford had acquired a small ownership stake in the horse. His share was not large enough to prevent Davis from having Phar Lap shipped to Mexico. Upset by the decision, Telford refused to go along. A new trainer was secured to manage Phar Lap’s North American campaign.

Phar Lap was a smash at the Agua Caliente race track, winning the track’s namesake handicap in record time. After the victory he was sent to a farm in California where his majority owner began to make plans for a series of appearances at American race tracks.

Phar Lap Falls Ill

Phar Lap’s longtime strapper Tommy Woodcock was tasked with caring for the horse in America. A strapper is a groom who attends to a horse’s day-to-day care; the role is distinct from that of its licensed trainer. On the morning of April 5, 1932, Woodcock arrived at the barn to find Phar Lap in distress. The horse had a very high fever, and he seemed to be in pain.

A veterinarian was summoned at some point in the morning hours. It was too late. Phar Lap began to hemorrhage. Within a short time the great champion was dead. There was an autopsy performed. The post-mortem was intended to investigate the sudden death; its findings should be considered alongside the later examination of preserved hair. The results showed that Phar Lap had an inflamed stomach and intestines.

Speculation started immediately. Some believed that the horse had accidentally consumed lead. Others believed that an infection was responsible. But there were some that advanced another theory. Some accounts connected the death with the earlier shooting attempt in Australia. That connection was speculative: an earlier attack does not establish that anyone followed the horse to America or caused his death. Evidence of exposure and evidence of a criminal act are different questions.

The Ongoing Investigation into Phar Lap’s Death

The mystery surrounding Phar Lap’s death has never been fully resolved despite decades of scientific investigation and historical research. The most significant modern analysis occurred in 2008, when Dr Ivan Kempson of the University of South Australia and Dermot Henry of Museum Victoria used advanced forensic techniques to analyse hair samples from Phar Lap’s preserved hide and detected high levels of arsenic consistent with a lethal dose administered in the days before his death. This finding supported arsenic poisoning as the cause of death, though it could not identify who was responsible or prove that the arsenic was intentionally administered rather than accidentally ingested.

The arsenic finding reignited public interest in the case and prompted renewed media coverage that introduced Phar Lap’s story to a new generation of Australian racing fans. The debate between those who believe the poisoning was deliberate — possibly orchestrated by American racing interests who feared his competitive threat in North American racing — and those who consider accidental environmental exposure a plausible explanation continues to generate passionate argument among historians and racing enthusiasts. What is beyond dispute is that Phar Lap’s death at the height of his powers, far from his homeland and without the definitive explanation that might have provided closure, added a final tragic dimension to a story that was already extraordinary. For more on Phar Lap’s life and career, our articles on Australia’s greatest race horse Phar Lap and top 10 legendary Australian race horses provide the full context.

Phar Lap’s Cause of Death Revealed

It was not until 2007 that a definitive forensic examination was conducted on samples of hair retained from Phar Lap’s mane. The test was conducted under the auspices of the University of South Australia. In 2008 the results of the test were released. The cause of Phar Lap’s death could finally be established with authority.

30-40 hours before he died, Phar Lap consumed a massive dose of arsenic. Despite the fact that arsenic is a deadly substance, it was easy to obtain in the 1930s in America. No conclusion could be made by the investigators as to where the arsenic came from.

The general consensus is that Phar Lap was indeed poisoned. Was the poisoning intentional or was it an accident? There were recipes in a book owned by Harry Telford that listed arsenic as an ingredient for horse tonic. Did Tommy Woodcock perhaps try to give Phar Lap a tonic that he had mixed from memory? Did the strapper perhaps use too much of the deadly compound in the mixture? Or did those who wanted the horse dead finally accomplish their deed? No one will likely ever know the truth.

Many theories have been advanced about the death of Phar Lap. Accounts involving alleged debts or organized crime are theories, not findings established by the hair analysis. What we know for sure is that Phar Lap deserved much better than his tragic end. One has to wonder what type of impact he would have made in America if given the chance.

Related to Australian horse racing:

• 10 Amazing Facts About Australian Horse Racing
• The Australian Racing Board
• Flemington Racecourse In Melbourne, Australia
• Doomben Racecourse, Brisbane
• Eagle Farm Racecourse, Brisbane
• The Melbourne Cup – Australias’s Biggest Horse Race
• The Cox Plate Australian Horse Race
• Timeform Ratings & Australian Horse Racing
• The Golden Slipper Stakes Australian Horse Race
• Phar Lap – The Sad End Of Australia’s Greatest Race Horse
• Top 10 Legendary Australian Race Horses
• The Australian Racing Hall Of Fame
• The Best Way To Bet Horse Races From Australia
• Australian Racing Terms You Need To Know
• 5 Reasons To Bet Australian Horse Racing
• Top 10 Jockeys In Australian Horse Racing
• Picking Horse Race Winners In Australia

Separate the evidence from the mystery

Phar Lap’s final race was the 1932 Agua Caliente Handicap, and his death soon afterward remains one of racing’s most discussed episodes. Accounts of illness, symptoms and later tissue analysis should be kept distinct from claims about who, if anyone, deliberately harmed him. A chemical finding may help explain a cause of death without proving a perpetrator or motive. The later laboratory finding supports arsenic poisoning; a claim of deliberate poisoning still requires separate evidence about its source and administration.

For historical research, compare contemporary reports with museum material and the methods used in later tests. Ask what sample survived, how it was stored, what the test detected and whether the conclusion identifies exposure or intent. This approach protects the appeal of Phar Lap’s story while giving readers a clearer way to weigh competing accounts.

What the surviving evidence establishes

The Australian Synchrotron’s June 2008 release reports a large ingested dose in the final 30–40 hours of Phar Lap’s life. Museums Victoria also preserves an account of the arsenic investigation. Those sources explain the scientific finding without naming a proven culprit. Museum records, contemporary reports and later speculation should remain identifiable as different kinds of evidence.