( Log Out /  He was obviously, if one accepts Woodcock’s statement, living the high-life, with more to come, as long as Phar Lap kept performing. "This is really the only physical evidence that exists on the cause of death and it is consistent with poisoning," Dr Kempson said. But maybe there was something more malevolent at work. Some believed the horse was poisoned by gangsters, while others argued he died accidentally after consuming insecticide or from acute bacterial gastroenteritis. Woodcock died in 1985, aged 80, taking that secret with him. Someone either murdered Phar Lap, or killed him with an accidental overdose. For years argument has raged over who and what killed Phar Lap, the horse that won the 1930 Melbourne Cup and for a time dominated Australia's horse racing scene.

Australian "WONDER HORSE" PHAR LAP, one of the world's most successful racehorses, suddenly hemorrhaged to death during a trip to California in 1932. Phar Lap started a short-priced favourite, which means that in order to win a fortune, Davis would have had to risk a fortune.

Hair samples from Phar Lap's stuffed hide provided clues to his untimely death, nearly 80 years later. Woodcock rejected the theory that the Americans poisoned Phar Lap, adding: "Why should they? Again Woodcock’s statements “muddy the waters”. The results proved the champ died from a large dose of the toxic drug, (arsenic) given to him in the last thirty to forty hours of his life. They analysed samples of hair from the back of the neck of early 20th century animals preserved at the Museum of Scotland. Woodcock apparently made these allegations in articles which he wrote for a Melbourne newspaper, several years after Phar Lap’s death. They tested hairs from the horse and found he was given a potentially deadly dose of arsenic about 35 hours before his agonising death.

Did the gangsters finally catch up with Phar Lap? The gallop was a farce, with Phar Lap barely extending beyond a canter.

The researchers final results, ruled out death from constant smaller doses of an arsenic-laced tonic fed to the great galloper, by his trainer, Harry Telford, and his strapper, Tommy Woodcock. The former strapper told me he had another theory but would not reveal it because, he said: "I don't know for sure.". If however, Phar Lap was not lame, meaning that Davis had simply grabbed the money and run, then one could understand members of the Agua Caliente Jockey Club, feeling aggrieved. Was Phar Lap ever lame?

Certainly, I was given to believe that from an early age. I have put the word vet.

Aggrieved enough though to kill Phar Lap? He took his winnings from around the ring, thus reducing the loss of each individual bookmaker, not that this necessarily improved their feelings of ill will towards Davis. Another fact which is very interesting, even disturbing, is that at no stage following Phar Lap’s triumph at Agua Caliente, does Tommy Woodcock ever refer to a split heel injury.

The exact seriousness of Phar Lap’s injury, remains a mystery. And he had survived two assassination attempts before. He took his horse half way across the world to win a race in Mexico, in the hope that victory there, would lead to further international success. © 2019 TIME USA, LLC. Tes Global Ltd is It makes for a good movie, but how feasible is it? For years argument has raged over who and what killed Phar Lap, the horse that won the 1930 Melbourne Cup and for a time dominated Australia's horse racing scene. This article has been sent to the following recipient: Sign up for C&EN's must-read weekly newsletter. If some “outside” individual or group wanted to kill Phar Lap, they would have needed “inside” assistance, and even then, they still would have had to get past Woodcock. No argument there, scientific evidence has established that. The two horses, a pony and a zebra were treated with arsenic during taxidermy but presumed not to have been poisoned by arsenic. "With this, we could see arsenic in Phar Lap's hair.". IN 1983, Peter Game interviewed Phar Lap's strapper Tommy Woodcock, two years before Woodcock died. The more popular explanation for Phar Laps’ seemingly limited preparation and restricted exhibition gallop, is that the horse was suffering from a split heel.

Change ), You are commenting using your Google account. It’s possible, but unlikely. Neilsen? On the other hand, in his biography, “Tommy Woodcock,” written by Jan Wositzky, Woodcock had this to say about the incident: “He just bruised his leg a little bit – it was better in a few days. Strange then, that an article in the “ Melbourne Age “ newspaper on the 19th of April, 1989, suggested that Tommy Woodcock, had for years harboured “a fear that he was responsible,” for the death of Phar Lap, by accidently giving the horse an overdose of the arsenic-based tonic known as Fowlers Solution. Invalid postcode. As to who it was who might have poisoned Phar Lap, Dr Kempson says we will probably never know. As Phar Lap’s trainer, Tommy Woodcock was set for the ride of his life, along with his beloved champion, to which the man was totally devoted. But thanks to physics professor Ivan M. Kempson of Academia Sinica, in Taiwan, and a little modern-day chemistry, this cold case has finally been cracked (Angew.

To send an e-mail to multiple recipients, separate e-mail addresses with a comma, semicolon, or both. Int. Suddenly, Neville Penton’s claim that Phar Lap sustained his split heel injury after the Agua Caliente race, seems far more credible. "If you think of carbon, for example, carbon that is in a graphite pencil is very different to carbon that is in a diamond," Dr Kempson said. ( Log Out /  ( Log Out /  It's a mystery that dates back to the Great Depression. We all know this has been talked about for years that Americans killed him or Tommy accidentaly gave him a overdose on arsenic but what do you guys think really happened? So where does all this leave us? What was the motive? AEST = Australian Eastern Standard Time which is 10 hours ahead of GMT (Greenwich Mean Time), ABC journalist Dan Oakes will not be prosecuted over Afghan Files leak, Daryl Maguire tells ICAC he discussed property deals with NSW Premier while they were in relationship, Expanded quarantine facility to allow more Australians to return via London and India, Live: Victoria requests more ADF support to bolster metro Melbourne 'ring of steel', Man arrested after Sydney woman Sabah Hafiz allegedly beaten to death at home, Fresh advice says WA's border should stay closed as CHO backtracks on claims state could open, Man shot dead, another on the run after high-speed car chase with police, State won't appeal acquittal of Claremont killer Bradley Edwards for Sarah Spiers murder, NSW's 'corrupt old town' has a long history of political scandal and honey pots, Live: Berejiklian accused of being 'sounding board for corruption' after former partner's ICAC grilling, Jushina is graduating next year and is worried there'll be no jobs to move into, HomeBuilder to deliver thousands of extensions, but might need one itself, Man eating lunch at park bench suffers extreme eye damage in magpie attack, Woman thanks God for strength to survive stranger's psychosis-induced knife attack in toilet cubicle, Kathy is living the reality of a changing climate, having lost eight cars to rising tides.

He charged officials of the Agua Caliente Jockey Club $5,000-00 for Phar Lap to do an exhibition gallop as a pre-race promotional stunt. When I interviewed Tommy Woodcock in July, 1983, he'd had 50 years to ponder on what killed the legendary racehorse in California on April 5, 1932. But I don't want to say because I don't know for sure," Woodcock said. If you are accessing TIME.com on a public computer, you are advised not to click on the "Remember me" option. While the cause of Phar Lap's death remains a mystery, many at the time feared the horse had been poisoned by members of the mafia who were worried it … SCIENCE has finally settled Tommy Woodcock's doubts about what killed Phar Lap. There have been alternative theories, including accidental poisoning from lead insecticide and a stomach condition. As the news of the horse’s death filtered through the press the next morning, the nation mourned in disbelief. Undoubtedly, members of the Agua Caliente Jockey Club’s Committee would have been licking their lips in anticipation of another financial bonanza, courtesy of their new found drawcard, Phar Lap, however, if a horse is genuinely injured, then, that’s racing. Copyright © 2020 American Chemical Society. Given that Menlo Park was approximately 1,000 kilometres from Agua Caliente, and bearing in mind road conditions and the vehicles of the time, it may well be that Phar Lap left Agua Caliente the day after his win, but did not arrive the same day, as Penton claims.

If the movie accounts of events is questionable, then so too, are Neville Penton’s accounts of events, given that later in his book he states that: “On the morning after (the Agua Caliente win), the horse, (Phar Lap) and his connections, arrived back at Menlo Park, Phar Lap was the victim of an accidental or intended poisoning.”. Square Dr Kempson said examination of arsenic distribution along the length of the hair also showed a massive peak just below the skin level in Phar Lap's hair, consistent with poisoning from heavy metals such as mercury and lead. Accept that as fact, and it is extremely difficult to believe that such a man would risk so much money on an under-prepared, unsound horse. Gangsters shot at the horse in an effort to eliminate him from competing in Australia's prestigious Melbourne Cup in 1930. Certainly, but in that case, why not kill Davis? "They didn't aim at his head, but down low at his feet, trying to cripple him. By submitting your information, you are gaining access to C&EN and subscribing to our weekly newsletter. There is no question of any deliberate wrong-doing by Dr. Neilsen, but rather an insinuation, that the vet.

"Even though it's all carbon it is very different, based on the chemistry. I have been involved with horses for over fifty years and I wouldn’t care if it was a show-jumper, eventer, racehorse or riding school hack, if I saw a horse with a bleeding split hoof, I would be rushing to attend to it, as I believe, most horse owners would. Away from Agua Caliente. Who then would want to kill Phar Lap? Change ), You are commenting using your Facebook account. Extensive research was undertaken by David Williamson and Sexton, then Simon Wincer became involved. Eliminate the “Agua Caliente connection”, and what is left? Something ... like murder. Learn more about the benefits of being Here we have two conflicting opinions as to how Phar Lap died, both being attributed to Tommy Woodcock. It wasn’t until 1980 that the infection was formally identified and in 2000 equine specialists concluded that he died of duodenitis-proximal jejunitis… When I interviewed Tommy Woodcock in July, 1983, he'd had 50 years to ponder on what killed the legendary racehorse in California on April 5, 1932. "I propped Bobby against the fence so when they whizzed around the corner they had a pretty awkward shot," he said. But what about Phar Lap’s other alleged injury? here. Originally published as Who killed Phar Lap? The researchers also studied the distribution of the arsenic in cross sections of the hair and along its length. Nor did he think colic killed Phar Lap. insecticide found on grass which the horse was known to have eaten Let’s go back a little.

The fact that Phar Lap was killed by “a large dose of the toxic drug (arsenic) given to him in the last thirty to forty hours of his life,” affectively puts paid to that theory.

Even if a motive can be attributed to disgruntled bookmakers, gangsters or even members of the Agua Caliente Jockey Club, how feasible is it that they, or indeed any other individual or group, could have contrived to kill Phar Lap? Tests revealed arsenic in this grass and a tiny amount of the poison in Phar Lap's stomach. There was no way that Phar Lap was going to travel 1,000 kilometres to San Francisco, only to hop back on the float and travel another 1,000 klms.



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