tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/phar-lap-3274/articlesPhar Lap – The Conversation2023-11-06T00:08:04Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2165302023-11-06T00:08:04Z2023-11-06T00:08:04ZHow Phar Lap’s skin, bones and heart became ‘holy relics’ in colonial Australia and New Zealand<p>When the legendary <a href="https://nzhistory.govt.nz/media/video/phar-lap-wins-1930-melbourne-cup">Phar Lap won the Melbourne Cup in 1930</a>, the big chestnut horse didn’t just live up to his Thai name, which means “lightning”. He also brought together strands of colonial history and mythology that are only now properly visible.</p>
<p>Much worshipped in life and in death, Phar Lap has occupied a unique place in the story of Australia’s and New Zealand’s evolving national identities. The posthumous division and distribution of his corpse into “relics” – mounted hide, skeleton and heart – represented a form of what I call “<a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/248984602_Colonial_Sainthood_in_Australasia">new world worship</a>”. </p>
<p>Old world religions were an important part of colonisation. But the early settler experience also saw the appearance of quasi-religious icons and symbols, one of which was the horse. Vital for settling, farming and policing the new land, they became more than mere beasts of burden.</p>
<p>Successful colonisation involved the breeding of introduced species – plants and animals, but also people. Physical strength, egalitarianism, battling against the odds and “mateship” were characteristics of the new colonial societies on both sides of the Tasman. For a while, Phar Lap embodied them all.</p>
<h2>Breeding good colonial stock</h2>
<p>The other thing Australia and New Zealand shared was a “cultural cringe” that expressed itself in a need to prove the new colonies could take on the world and win. National myths based on climate, soil, good pastures and practical skill took shape.</p>
<p>Whether it was soldiers, race horses or rugby players, the goal was to produce the best winning stock in the world. Breeding <a href="https://teara.govt.nz/en/1966/racehorses-famous-new-zealand-thoroughbreds">champion race horses</a> from overseas bloodlines fitted the narrative perfectly.</p>
<p>By the time Phar Lap was born in Timaru in New Zealand’s South Island in 1926, horse racing was well established as an important industry throughout Australia and New Zealand. Uniquely, it brought together the business of breeding and training with socialising, entertainment and gambling.</p>
<p>Antipodean racing culture mimicked British rituals and traditions, but involved a wider cross-section of society. Many factors made following the horses so appealing: genetics, condition and training, track conditions, riders and of course the field, all contributed to the interest and the odds. </p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/was-phar-lap-killed-by-gangsters-new-research-shows-which-conspiracies-people-believe-in-and-why-158610">Was Phar Lap killed by gangsters? New research shows which conspiracies people believe in and why</a>
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<p>A big race meeting became a kind of “holy day”. The fun, excitement, dressing up and partying while trying one’s luck on the horses lives on today, nowhere more so than at the Melbourne Cup.</p>
<p>Phar Lap’s famous win by three lengths in 1930 – having survived an assassination attempt shortly beforehand – became part of the legend. Against the grim backdrop of the Great Depression, he offered escapism and even a sense of confidence that things could be better.</p>
<p>When he won the <a href="https://www.nfsa.gov.au/collection/curated/phar-laps-last-race-agua-caliente">Agua Caliente Handicap in Mexico</a> it thrilled Australians and New Zealanders alike. And his death two weeks later saw shock and public mourning. The attendant <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/how-did-australasias-first-champion-racehorse-phar-lap-really-die/CXJZJIQZPEZZPQY2J3X52FSJP4/">conspiracy theories</a> – killed by gangsters, toxic feed, too much arsenic in his tonic – are seemingly as immortal as Phar Lap’s memory.</p>
<h2>Horse with a big heart</h2>
<p>Like holy relics, the horse’s hide, bones and heart were brought back from the United States and then shared between Australia and New Zealand for the faithful to witness.</p>
<p>Renowned New York taxidermists the Jonas brothers <a href="https://collections.museumsvictoria.com.au/articles/14229">created the life-like mount</a> that went to the National Museum of Victoria (later the Melbourne Museum). Phar Lap’s skeleton went to Wellington’s Dominion Museum (now Te Papa).</p>
<p>But it’s <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/mystery-over-phar-lap-s-heart-only-strengthens-the-legend-20211218-p59io4.html">Phar Lap’s heart that has seen the most myth-making</a> and mystery. Preserved and displayed at the National Institute of Anatomy in Canberra (later the Australian National Museum), it is extremely large, leading to various claims that it enabled Phar Lap’s success and that it can’t be authentic. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-greatest-ever-or-will-ascot-be-a-lap-too-phar-for-black-caviar-7803">The greatest ever, or will Ascot be a Lap too Phar for Black Caviar?</a>
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<p>Nonetheless, the symbolism of a big heart can’t be denied. And while it evokes the preserved and sacred hearts of old-world saints, it suggests forms of new-world worship are evolving too. All three museums claim their Phar Lap relics are perennially popular.</p>
<p>Phar Lap’s skeleton and hide were temporarily reunited for a special exhibition at the Melbourne Museum to celebrate the <a href="https://www.nma.gov.au/audio/heart-of-australian-racing-the-melbourne-cup">150th anniversary of the Melbourne Cup in 2011</a>. But it’s ironic the remains of a horse that once united Australia and New Zealand should be so separated.</p>
<p>Then again, perhaps it’s a fitting metaphor after all, as the two former colonies find their separate way in the modern world, nearly a century on from Phar Lap’s brief but glorious reign.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/216530/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Katie Pickles does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Phar Lap’s famous 1930 Melbourne Cup victory united Australia and New Zealand in celebration. Almost a century on, people still flock to visit his remains, on display at three different museums.Katie Pickles, Professor of History, University of CanterburyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1586102021-04-27T04:45:51Z2021-04-27T04:45:51ZWas Phar Lap killed by gangsters? New research shows which conspiracies people believe in and why<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397271/original/file-20210427-13-1uxkdfg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=139%2C44%2C2811%2C2209&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AP</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Apollo moon landings <a href="http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1860871_1860876_1860992,00.html">were faked</a>, Lee Harvey Oswald <a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/165893/majority-believe-jfk-killed-conspiracy.aspx">did not act alone</a> to assassinate JFK, governments are <a href="https://today.yougov.com/topics/science/articles-reports/2019/07/03/UFOs-government-secret-americans-poll">hiding the existence of UFOs</a>. </p>
<p>These are some classic conspiracy theories that almost everyone has heard about, and a sizeable number of people agree with. But little research has investigated “homegrown” conspiracy theories in Australia and New Zealand, and what drives people in these countries to believe in conspiracies. Are we much different from conspiracy believers elsewhere?</p>
<p><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/share/author/RGSXEZNJYVJBJFZEDGFD?target=10.1111/pops.12746">Our new research published in the journal Political Psychology</a> delved into “homegrown” conspiracy beliefs of everyday Aussies and Kiwis, shedding light on which ones we buy into and which we put in the “tin foil hat” basket.</p>
<h2>What conspiracies do Aussies and Kiwis believe?</h2>
<p>When it comes to specifically Australian and New Zealand conspiracies, we found a majority of people in both countries (56.7% of Aussies and 50.1% Kiwis) endorsed at least one of the ones we asked about.</p>
<p>Sporting conspiracy theories were the most believed. For instance, almost one third of Aussies believed the racehorse Phar Lap’s <a href="https://www.nma.gov.au/explore/collection/highlights/phar-lap-collection">sudden death in San Francisco in 1932</a> was the result of poisoning by US gangsters.</p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/sport-is-full-of-conspiracy-theories-chris-froomes-horrific-cycling-crash-is-just-the-latest-example-118918">Sport is full of conspiracy theories – Chris Froome’s horrific cycling crash is just the latest example</a>
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<p>The most popular conspiracy theory amongst Kiwis was the <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/all-blacks-deliberately-poisoned-at-1995-rugby-world-cup-says-nelson-mandelas-bodyguard/AZOWJNWGCVALROTY3COJHVXSNI/">All Blacks were deliberately poisoned</a> prior to the 1995 Rugby World Cup final, which they narrowly lost to hosts South Africa. </p>
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<span class="caption">The All Blacks were stricken by a diarrhoea and vomiting bug two days before the final, a 15-12 loss in extra time.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">John Parkin/AP</span></span>
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<p>These are relatively innocuous narratives that perhaps are not all that surprising, given how central sports are to national identity.</p>
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<p>But there was also a sizeable minority of people (8-12%) who believed in darker and more sinister conspiracies, such as the <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/3/28/australian-senator-suggests-worst-gun-massacre-was-a-conspiracy">Port Arthur</a> and <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/world/oceania/christchurch-attack-was-a-false-flag-conspiracy-theorists-claim-20190318-p5150a.html">Christchurch</a> massacres were false flag operations by government agents with the aim of further restricting gun ownership.</p>
<p>Also, troublingly, 20% of Australian respondents and 16% of New Zealanders believed their governments were covering up the health risks of the new 5G cellular network.</p>
<h2>Why do people believe in conspiracies?</h2>
<p>Conspiracies are found to be true on occasion, which renders them no longer “theories”. For example, in the 1960s and 70s, the CIA really did engage in secretive experiments to identify drugs to force confessions (<a href="https://www.npr.org/2019/09/09/758989641/the-cias-secret-quest-for-mind-control-torture-lsd-and-a-poisoner-in-chief">Project MKUltra</a>). </p>
<p>But what is surprising is the degree to which people seem to believe in unfounded conspiracies, especially given the lack of evidence.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721417718261">Previous research</a> has highlighted three potential motives for why people buy into conspiracy theories.</p>
<p>First, people may latch onto conspiracy theories as a way of understanding and explaining a chaotic world, drawing links between unconnected events to create a sense of certainty. </p>
<p>For example, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2014.08.006">studies</a> show people who prefer an intuitive style of thinking — “going with their gut” — are more likely to believe in conspiracy theories, while those who engage in more deliberative, analytic thinking are less convinced.</p>
<p>Second, for some people, believing in conspiracy theories gives them a greater sense of safety and control over the unknown. Central to this is a distrust of the “other” — as in, different types of people or groups. </p>
<p>Some researchers have pointed to this being <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691618774270">evolutionary</a> — a psychological mechanism that aims to minimise the risk of threats from enemies and maintain a safe environment for one’s “tribe”.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/in-defence-of-conspiracy-theories-and-why-the-term-is-a-misnomer-101678">In defence of conspiracy theories (and why the term is a misnomer)</a>
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<p>Lastly, conspiracy theories may serve as a way for people to maintain a positive sense of self and their identity as a member of a social group. This meets a fundamental human need for belonging. For example, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2016.10.003">those who felt socially excluded</a> have been found to be more likely to engage in conspiracies.</p>
<p><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/share/author/RGSXEZNJYVJBJFZEDGFD?target=10.1111/pops.12746">In our research</a>, we found evidence for all three motives being associated with belief in conspiracy theories. </p>
<p>We asked participants a series of validated questions and looked at their associations with beliefs in conspiracies. Those who were more likely to endorse conspiracy theories were less analytical in their thinking, less trusting of others, or felt alienated from mainstream society. </p>
<h2>What does this mean for combating conspiracies?</h2>
<p>Research has shown that belief in conspiracy theories, on balance, is <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/spanish-journal-of-psychology/article/abs/are-conspiracy-theories-harmless/FA0A9D612CC82B02F91AAC2439B4A2FB">harmful to society</a>. Climate change conspiracy theories can <a href="http://doi.org/10.1177/0096340215571908">motivate people away from social action</a>, while conspiracy theories about 5G telecommunications have been <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/bjso.12394">associated with support for violent tendencies</a>.</p>
<p>Also, research shows people who believe in one conspiracy theory <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00206">tend to believe in others</a>. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-misinformation-about-5g-is-spreading-within-our-government-institutions-and-whos-responsible-139304">How misinformation about 5G is spreading within our government institutions – and who's responsible</a>
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<p><a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/eprint/QSWE8JP8YA4ATBEFFTAS/full">Our other recent research</a> shows people who engage in some kinds of conspiratorial thinking are also more likely to reject beneficial scientific innovations. </p>
<p>For example, those who believe in criminal conspiracies within governments and conspiracies related to restrictions on personal health practices and liberties are more likely to reject childhood vaccinations.</p>
<p>Trying to extricate friends and family from these webs of conspiracies can be difficult. But appealing to why they believe in them — rather than just what they believe — <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0040437">may be more effective at countering these beliefs</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.climatechangecommunication.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/ConspiracyTheoryHandbook.pdf">Research</a> suggests avoiding ridicule, showing empathy, affirming critical thinking and appealing to trusted message sources can help when talking to someone who believes in conspiracy theories.</p>
<p>We are currently planning and conducting further research to track people’s beliefs over time so we can pinpoint the key ingredients to their continued endorsement of conspiracies — and what convinces them to climb out of the rabbit hole. </p>
<p>We hope this will help counter the pernicious effects conspiracy theories have on societal cohesion.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/158610/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>At least half of Australians and New Zealanders in a recent study believed in one major conspiracy theory.Mathew Marques, Lecturer in Social Psychology, La Trobe UniversityJames (Jim) McLennan, adjunct professor, School of Psychology & Public Health, La Trobe University, La Trobe UniversityJohn Kerr, Postdoctoral Research Associate, Department of Psychology, University of CambridgeMathew Ling, Lecturer in Psychology, Deakin UniversityMatt Williams, Lecturer in Psychology, Massey UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/678392016-10-31T19:04:25Z2016-10-31T19:04:25ZThe race that stops the nation also holds many weird and wonderful stories<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/143842/original/image-20161031-15816-irzh0j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Jockey Michelle Payne rides Prince of Penzance to victory in the 2015 Melbourne Cup.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Julian Smith</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Melbourne Cup is sometimes deplored but the central place it holds in Australian mainstream culture is rarely disputed. </p>
<p>And its promotion came quickly. Its first running in 1861 drew about 4,000 spectators. In 1870 an estimated 30,000 attended and 100,000 was claimed for the 1880 running – about a third of the population of Melbourne. Even allowing for some boasting spurred by colonial rivalry, these are remarkable figures. </p>
<p>Savvy writers soon recognised the impact of the Cup. American Mark Twain witnessed it in 1895, <a href="http://www.australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/melbourne-cup">writing of his astonishment</a> at the extent of “Cup fever” in Australia. <a href="http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/gould-nathaniel-nat-6438">Englishman Nat Gould</a> made a fortune writing Edwardian pot-boilers with racing themes. One of his earliest novels was <a href="http://www.natgould.org/the_double_event">The Double Event: a Tale of the Melbourne Cup</a>. It became a bestseller in Australia and Britain. Arthur W. Upfield, creator of the Aboriginal detective “Bony”, entered the market with <a href="http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/8334769?l-decade=191&q&sort=holdings+desc&_=1477878015111&versionId=23084064">The Great Melbourne Cup Mystery</a>. In 1936 Cinesound filmmaker Ken G. Hall contributed <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/politics">Thoroughbred</a>, a thinly veiled retelling of Phar Lap’s 1930 brush with gangsters.</p>
<p>Yet the <a href="http://www.pharlap.com.au/">Phar Lap story</a>, familiar to millions, emphasises that on the racetrack truth usually is stranger than fiction. In recent years there have been several more unlikely plot twists. </p>
<p>During the 2000s the chunky mare <a href="https://rv.racing.com/careers-and-education/australian-racing-museum/hall-of-fame/horses/makybe-diva">Makybe Diva</a> bullied her way to an unprecedented three straight Melbourne Cup wins. </p>
<p>In 2015 battling jockey Michelle Payne outdid National Velvet by <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-11-03/michelle-payne-rides-prince-of-penzance-to-melbourne-cup-win/6908594">winning the race</a> on a 100/1 aged gelding from the bush named Prince of Penzance. In doing so she became the first female jockey to win the great race. The pair’s subsequent histories emphasise the ephemeral nature of success in racing; Payne was seriously injured in a fall and replaced as the Prince’s rider. The horse lost form, before breaking down and <a href="http://www.thoroughbrednews.com.au/Australia/default.aspx?id=91217&page=1&keyword=">being retired</a>.</p>
<p>The race’s long history contains many more extraordinary personal stories, once celebrated, but probably unfamiliar to most modern-day observers. One that appealed to the Gothic sensibilities of those 19th century race-followers who so impressed Twain was the <a href="http://craigsroyal.com.au/Video/craig-s-dream-cup/">outré tale of the 1870 Cup</a>. Months before the race, Ballarat publican Walter Craig had a vivid dream. In this dream he watched his own horse, Nimblefoot, win the Cup, but he noticed his jockey was wearing a black armband. Craig’s premonition was that his horse would win the Cup, but that he would not live to see it. So strong was his conviction that the story gained great currency and was reported in the press before the Cup was run (this is verified by the Trove newspaper database). Astonishingly, Craig’s horse Nimblefoot won the cup, with the jockey wearing a black crepe armband to mourn Walter Craig who, just as he had dreamed, died before the race.</p>
<p>A more humorous tale of Melbourne Cup forewarning concerns jockey John Letts, who rode the 40/1 outsider Piping Lane in 1972. Letts was a South Australian, a late booking because he could make the horse’s light weight of 48 kilograms. When approached for the ride he decided not to reveal he had not ridden at Flemington previously. He asked a friend among the local jockeys for advice and was told “make your move at Chiquita Lodge”. In the run Letts gained a good position. As the field began the long turn for home, he scanned the horizon for Chiquita Lodge. “I was looking up in the sky for some multi-storey hotel or apartments,” he recalled. Nothing like that appeared and the jockey grew desperate. Then he saw the favourite Gunsynd being urged forward and decided to get onto its tail. In the straight Piping Lane surged past Gunsynd and went on to an easy win.</p>
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<span class="caption">Piping Lane, ridden by John Letts, wins the 1972 Melbourne Cup.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.foxsports.com.au/breaking-news/prince-of-penzance-joins-list-of-biggest-long-shots-to-win-melbourne-cup/news-story/6c25cd0678b009d248b0987161d03c52">foxsports.com.au</a></span>
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<p>Later Letts confronted his informant about the Chiquita Lodge tip. He was embarrassed to learn that Chiquita Lodge was a famous stable that ran down the side of the racecourse with its name painted in huge letters on the roof. Letts capitalised on his 1972 win to become one of the country’s leading jockeys and won another Melbourne Cup in 1980 – leading all the way.</p>
<p>The story of the 1906 winner Poseidon and its ardent admirer, a Chinese market-gardener named Jimmy Ah Poon, also has its element of humour. Poseidon was a three-year-old colt in the spring of 1906. He began a sequence of big-race wins at Randwick in September, then won at Hawkesbury, followed up in the AJC Derby, but then ran second in the Metropolitan Handicap. He then travelled to Melbourne and won four races in a row, culminating in the Melbourne Cup. In autumn 1907 Poseidon raced five times for three more wins and two seconds. </p>
<p>Ah Poon supplied Poseidon with his favourite food, carrots, from his garden. They became firm friends. He bet 10 pounds on the horse at Randwick then “let it ride” at Hawkesbury and in the Derby. At the urging of the owner he laid off on the Metropolitan defeat, then again bet all-up in each of the Melbourne wins. He did the same in the autumn, but somehow knew not to bet on the losses. Bookmakers, who not surprisingly had come to know him well, wryly nicknamed him “The Possum” for his pronunciation of “Poseidon” when placing bets, but also for his cunning in avoiding losing days. He was not seen at the track thereafter and it is believed he returned to China with his fortune intact. </p>
<p>The Cup of 1890 was won by “Old Jack” or Carbine, the horse that several racing heavyweights judge superior to Phar Lap. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/143633/original/image-20161028-15793-1mf4fld.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/143633/original/image-20161028-15793-1mf4fld.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=384&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/143633/original/image-20161028-15793-1mf4fld.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=384&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/143633/original/image-20161028-15793-1mf4fld.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=384&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/143633/original/image-20161028-15793-1mf4fld.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=482&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/143633/original/image-20161028-15793-1mf4fld.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=482&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/143633/original/image-20161028-15793-1mf4fld.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=482&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Carbine wins the Cup in 1890.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Supplied</span></span>
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<p>It is one of the earliest for which we have images of the the contestants approaching the winning post. It is thus of significance in the history of photography. The picture also captures a large section of the crowd watching the race intently, in which a keen-eyed latter-day researcher named Jack Pollard spotted a crime in progress. One racegoer is being “dipped” – that is, having his pocket picked (circled in the photo). One hopes that the victim was not holding a winning ticket.</p>
<p>For those interested in reading more quirky Melbourne Cup anecdotes, I recommend <a href="http://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/2065222">A Century of Winners</a>, by Bill Ahern (Boolarong Press, 1982).</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/67839/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Wayne Peake does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>We all know about Phar Lap, but what about the remarkable story of Walter Craig on Nimblefoot, or the market gardener who always knew when Poseidon would win?Wayne Peake, Researcher, Western Sydney UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/78032012-06-22T05:02:52Z2012-06-22T05:02:52ZThe greatest ever, or will Ascot be a Lap too Phar for Black Caviar?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/12068/original/rk7d6kb7-1340327789.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Black Caviar is given a kiss by trainer Peter Moody ahead of the Diamond Jubilee Stakes.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/David Crosling</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>At 12.45am on Sunday (AEST) wonder-mare Black Caviar, the Antipodean racehorse with the highest public profile since the immortal Phar Lap, will contest the Diamond Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot racecourse. </p>
<p>It is anticipated she will win, just as she has in all her previous 21 starts in Australia. She will once again be at short odds, maybe five-to-one-on. Her anticipated presence has frightened off most of the top-grade British sprinters that would normally line up for this race.</p>
<h2>Phar Lap vs Black Caviar</h2>
<p>Before Black Caviar came along, the title of Australia’s greatest horse was held by Phar Lap, who had 37 wins from 51 starts. A victory at Ascot for Black Caviar could change that.</p>
<p>But Phar Lap and Black Caviar have little in common. He was a seventeen-hand gelding said to resemble a red kangaroo, especially as a gangly colt. She of course is black, no dwarf at 16.2 hands high, but built along the nuggetty lines of a pit-bull terrier. Phar Lap won races beyond two miles in length. “Nellie” (Black Caviar’s stable name) has only once been tested beyond the sprinter’s distance of 1200 metres. </p>
<p>In 2012, anyone has access to full video footage of each of Black Caviar’s wins and with the exception of two challenges by the courageous front-runner Hay List, she hardly seems to have got out of low gear. There are only a handful of grainy films of Phar Lap racing, all shot without telescopic lens. We can be certain of one thing however, Black Caviar has her own <a href="http://www.blackcaviar.net.au/">website</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/blackcaviar2006">twitter profile</a>. Phar Lap, naturally, did not.</p>
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<p>The pair’s greatest similarity, of course, lies in the fact they have moved beyond the boundaries of the sub-culture of racing into the broader Australian psyche. They have even moved into the consciousness of children, who draw pictures of the black mare and wave them trackside as she parades before and after races. </p>
<p>For Black Caviar has done something only the Melbourne Cup and a handful of other festive racing occasions now do; she has drawn masses of people to the track. Even in Adelaide, the acknowledged “sick man” of Australian racing, some 30,000 people recently turned out to pay homage twice at the city’s one remaining metropolitan track, Morphettville. There is a sense that Black Caviar’s visit was the equine equivalent of one by the Queen on royal tour duty, venturing out to visit her subjects at the far reaches of her empire.</p>
<h2>Squibs and stayers</h2>
<p>Is there a similar motivation behind Black Caviar’s expedition to the UK? Prize money in itself cannot be the answer, for compared to Australian “group” races, it is footling. Especially for the sprint races Black Caviar contests. </p>
<p>This reflects the pecking order in Britain and Europe, where stayers are held in much higher esteem than sprinters, or “speedy squibs”. That used to be the case in Australia too, until <a href="http://www.goldenslipperstakes.com.au/">The Golden Slipper Stakes</a> turned the local breeding industry upside-down and caused the rise of the speed sire. Now the Australian-bred stayer is almost defunct, a fact reflected by the prize money earners in recent Melbourne Cups.</p>
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<p>This stayer/sprinter dichotomy may help explain why Black Caviar, the unbeaten winner of 21 races, is ranked only the second best horse in the world by the UK based arbiter Timeform. The laurel goes to one <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-06-21/phenomenal-frankel/4085126?section=sport">Frankel</a>, winner of 11 races without having his colours lowered. Frankel “franked” his rating with an incredible eleven-length Ascot win on Wednesday night.</p>
<h2>Who the Frankel?</h2>
<p>Frankel is a stayer, or at least, a middle distance horse. He ranks 11 points above Black Caviar with the highest <a href="http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/superracing/timeform-rates-frankel-best-of-all-time-with-a-provisional-rating-of-147-for-champions-queen-anne-stakes-romp-at-ascot/story-fn67rc85-1226402413143">Timeform rating</a> ever of 147. There has been talk of a match race between the two champions, but it would have to be at a distance at the extremity of each’s effective range, most likely 1600 metres. In those circumstances such a race would probably not settle which is the better. In any case, despite the salivations of racing’s followers and the avarice of its marketers, such a showdown is considered unlikely.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/12066/original/tjp3n7cr-1340327432.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/12066/original/tjp3n7cr-1340327432.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=885&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/12066/original/tjp3n7cr-1340327432.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=885&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/12066/original/tjp3n7cr-1340327432.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=885&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/12066/original/tjp3n7cr-1340327432.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1113&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/12066/original/tjp3n7cr-1340327432.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1113&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/12066/original/tjp3n7cr-1340327432.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1113&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Back Caviar’s trainer Peter Moody.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Julian Smith</span></span>
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<p>Black Caviar may be dwarfed by Frankel in the ratings but there is no doubt she is racing’s current “It” girl, in the United Kingdom no less than in Australia. </p>
<p>Last weekend the racing station Skychannel played gratifying images of perhaps 20 British camera crews trudging across broken ground on the Newmarket heath in order to inspect her stabling, watch her undertake some pacework, and interview her Australian trainer, Peter Moody, and jockey, Luke Nolen. </p>
<p>Moody is a consummate media performer, honed no doubt by the number of interviews he has given in the past few years. </p>
<h2>What if she wins?</h2>
<p>What will it mean for Australian racing if Black Caviar wins? In one sense, not that much. In the last decade there has been a steady stream of Australian horses.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.racingandsports.com.au/racing/rsNewsArt.asp?NID=116838&story=Miss_Andretti_Horse_Of_The_Year">Miss Andretti</a>, <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/news/sport/horse-racing/scenic-blast-continues-aussie-dominance-at-ascot/2009/06/17/1244918042485.html">Scenic Blast</a>, <a href="http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/starspangled-battle-for-champion-horse/story-e6frf7jo-1225890245796">Starspangledbanner</a> and <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/sport/horseracing/so-you-think-hes-ready-for-frankel-20120621-20qzi.html">So You Think</a>, have all managed to win big races at the Ascot Carnival, the July Newmarket meeting, and beyond. There are plenty of precedents.</p>
<p>None of these worthy horses, however, is a Black Caviar. She makes people feel good about themselves and it is certain that one day old-timers will boast of having seen her race. </p>
<p>She was not born into desperate economic times like the “Red Terror” Phar Lap was. Nor has she had to overcome deprivations and constant failure in early years, and then crippling injury, as the American’s “People’s Horse”, <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/biography/seabiscuit-biography/">Seabiscuit</a> did. But, like them, she has gained immortality, regardless of whether she wins on Saturday.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/7803/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Wayne Peake does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>At 12.45am on Sunday (AEST) wonder-mare Black Caviar, the Antipodean racehorse with the highest public profile since the immortal Phar Lap, will contest the Diamond Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot racecourse…Wayne Peake, Researcher, Western Sydney UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.