''Phar Lap'' (also released as ''Phar Lap: Heart of a Nation'') is a 1983 film about the racehorse

Phar Lap Phar Lap (4 October 1926 – 5 April 1932) was a champion New Zealand–bred Thoroughbred racehorse who is widely regarded as New Zealand's greatest racehorse ever. Achieving incredible success during his distinguished career, his initial u ...

. The film stars

Tom Burlinson Tom Burlinson (born 14 February 1956) is a Canadian actor and singer. Career Tom Burlinson was born in Toronto, Canada, the son of Antony T. Burlinson (born 1923, in Greenwich, Middlesex) and Angela Schofield (born 1926, in Bury St Edmunds, ...

and was written by

David Williamson David Keith Williamson AO (born 24 February 1942) is an Australian dramatist and playwright. He has also written screenplays and teleplays. Early life David Williamson was born in Melbourne, Victoria, on 24 February 1942, and was brought ...

Plot

A chestnut Thoroughbred horse called Phar Lap, known as Bobby by his strapper Tommy Woodcock (

), collapses and dies in Tommy's arms at Menlo Park in California in 1932. The news is greeted with great sadness in Australia. The remainder of the film is done as flashback. Five years earlier, Phar Lap arrives in Australia, purchased for £168 sight unseen from New Zealand. His trainer Harry Telford ( Martin Vaughan), along with his wife Vi (Celia De Burgh) and young son Cappy, watch as Phar Lap is lowered onto the wharf in a sling, underweight with warts all over his face. Mrs. Telford comments that she "wonders what his (Telford's) American friend (Phar Lap's owner David Davis (Leibman)) will think?" Mr. Davis is not impressed with the underweight colt, calling him a cross between a sheep dog and a

kangaroo Kangaroos are four marsupials from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern ...

, and orders Telford to sell him immediately. Telford protests, saying that the horse's pedigree is exceptional, with

Carbine A carbine ( or ) is a long gun that has a barrel shortened from its original length. Most modern carbines are rifles that are compact versions of a longer rifle or are rifles chambered for less powerful cartridges. The smaller size and lighte ...

"The greatest horse of them all" on both sides of his bloodlines. So Mr. Davis agrees to lease him to Telford for three years and just keep one third of the horse's winnings, though Telford must pay for Phar Lap's upkeep and keep Davis's name out of it. As Phar Lap is brought into the stables, he and a young strapper Tommy Woodcock form a strong bond. After Telford gallops Phar Lap hard up and down sand dunes, Tommy finds Phar Lap exhausted in his stable and immediately goes to Telford's home and confronts him about how hard he rode Phar Lap, saying that "he looked half dead." Telford sacked Tommy Woodcock, but then he was soon forced to give Tommy his job back when Phar Lap missed Tommy and stopped eating and wouldn't let anyone near him without ripping their shirt off. Phar Lap lost his first few races, but Tommy Woodcock educated the horse by holding him back when they were training, sensing that the horse liked to come from behind. When Phar Lap started training well, Telfod took the credit, telling Mr. Davis that he has "knocked that lazy streak out of him at last." He convinced Mr. Davis to pay the £30 entry fee into 1929

Australian Derby Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal A ...

to be run at Randwick Racecourse in Sydney. The film shows the

as Phar Lap's first win, although his first win was actually six months earlier in the RRC Maiden Juvenile Handicap at Sydney's other main racecourse

Rosehill Racecourse The Rosehill Gardens Racecourse is located in the Western Sydney suburb of Rosehill, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is operated by the Australian Turf Club. Rosehill holds horse races for thoroughbred gallopers on a grass ...

. The win saves Phar Lap from being sold and the winnings, £7,135 (⅓ of which went to Davis) saves Telford from bankruptcy. As the Great Depression hits, Phar Lap wins every race he enters. Mr. Davis attempts to capitalize on Phar Lap's success through shady betting schemes with known gambling identity Eric Connolly ( John Stanton), something that Telford wants no part of. In preparation for the

Melbourne Cup The Melbourne Cup is a Thoroughbred horse race held in Melbourne, Australia. It is a 3200-metre race for three-year-olds and over, conducted by the Victoria Racing Club on the Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne, Victoria as part of the Melb ...

, the premier race in Australia, Mr. Davis pressures Telford to scratch Phar Lap from the

Caulfield Cup The Caulfield Cup is a Melbourne Racing Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race held under handicap conditions, although the Melbourne Racing Club is in the process of turning the race into weight for age (WFA) conditions. This is for all horses ...

to maximize Davis's betting returns. Under financial pressure, Telford reluctantly agrees. As Tommy Woodcock walks Phar Lap across the street after a workout, someone tries to shoot the horse, and Tommy puts himself in between the gun and Phar Lap. Tommy Woodcock and Phar Lap go into hiding at a stud farm outside Melbourne, arriving at Flemington Racecourse at the last minute for the 1930

. Phar Lap wins, ridden by champion jockey Jim Pike (James Steele). The horse is now back under Mr. Davis's control after the three-year agreement runs out. Mr. Davis then offers half of Phar Lap's ownership to Telford for £20,000, which Telford can't afford. Telford then fakes a hoof injury on Phar Lap and hoodwinks Mr. Davis into thinking that Phar Lap is lame, and Mr. Davis agrees to sell the half share of Phar Lap for only £4,000. Mr. Davis realizes he's been tricked when Phar Lap easily wins his next race. The

Victoria Racing Club The Victoria Racing Club was founded in 1864. It was formed following the disbanding of the Victoria Turf Club and the Victoria Jockey Club. A legacy passed from the Victoria Turf Club was the annual "race that stops a nation", the Melbourne Cup ...

, led by its Chairman Lachlan McKinnon (

Vincent Ball Vincent Martin Ball OAM (born 4 December 1923) is an Australian retired character actor of radio, stage and screen, active in the industry for nearly 55 years (with a brief return) firstly in Britain and then his native Australia. He has also ...

), imposes an unprecedented weight of for Phar Lap to carry in his next

in 1931. And they threaten to permanently ban Mr. Davis and Phar Lap from racing if Mr. Davis takes Phar Lap out of the Melbourne Cup. Phar Lap surges to the lead but fades and finishes eighth, and the racing authorities face jeering crowds. After the 1931

, Mr. Davis is approached by Jim Crofton (Roger Newcombe) about racing Phar Lap in the

Agua Caliente Handicap The Agua Caliente Handicap is a defunct thoroughbred horse race that was once the premier event at Agua Caliente Racetrack in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico, and the richest race in North America. Inaugurated in 1917 as the Coffroth Handicap, it ...

at the

Agua Caliente Racetrack Agua means water in Spanish. Agua may also refer to: Places * ''Agua de Dios'' (God's water), a municipality in Colombia * Volcán de Agua, a stratovolcano located in Guatemala Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Agua'' (film), a 2006 Argentin ...

Tijuana Tijuana ( ,"Tijuana"
(US) and < ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. Mr. Davis, knowing that Phar Lap would always be too heavily weighted in Australian handicap races and knowing that Weight for Age races offered less prize money, agrees to take Phar Lap to Mexico, but has to convince Telford it's worthwhile. Telford initially disagrees citing Australia's Quarantine Laws, but reluctantly agrees knowing that the

was the richest race in the world. Telford, saying that Phar Lap has brought him "nothing but trouble" refuses to go himself, preferring to concentrate on his new stud and stables at

Braeside Braeside, meaning ''hillside'' in the Scots language, may refer to: * Braeside, Aberdeen, Scotland * Braeside, Greenock, Scotland * Braeside, Victoria, Australia * Braeside, Ontario, Canada * Braeside Observatory, Flagstaff, Arizona * Breaside, Chic ...

, south of

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. He promotes Tommy to be Phar Lap's trainer, knowing the horse wouldn't do anything without Tommy there with him. Also traveling with Phar Lap is Tommy's friend Cashy Martin ( Richard Morgan) as his new strapper,

veterinarian A veterinarian (vet), also known as a veterinary surgeon or veterinary physician, is a medical professional who practices veterinary medicine. They manage a wide range of health conditions and injuries in non-human animals. Along with this, vet ...

Bill Nielsen ( Robert Grubb), and jockey

Billy Elliot ''Billy Elliot'' is a 2000 British coming-of-age comedy-drama film directed by Stephen Daldry and written by Lee Hall. Set in County Durham in North East England during the 1984–1985 miners' strike, the film is about a working-class boy w ...

(Paul Riley). After arriving in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, Mr. Davis is forced to confront Crofton after finding that the race's purse has been halved from US$100,000 to $50,000. Tommy Woodcock soon clashes with Mr. Davis over Tommy's softer training methods and sometimes non-cooperative ways, including taking Phar Lap away from a press conference and back to his stable before the conference was finished. When questioned by Crofton about sacking Tommy Woodcock, Mr. Davis explains that "If I did, the goddamn horse would sit in his stall for the next month and cry." Tommy Woodcock also doesn't listen to advice about different horse shoes to suit the different track surface and Phar Lap badly cracks his front right hoof further hampering his preparation for the big race. Before the race, word gets out that some jockeys may have been bribed to keep Phar Lap boxed into the rails during the race, not allowing him to win and keep gamblers from losing large amounts of money. So before the race, Davis instructs jockey Billy Elliot to lead from the start, but Tommy Woodcock immediately counters this by telling Elliot to run Phar Lap's normal race of starting slow and finishing fast. Using Tommy Woodcock's advice (which initially angers Davis), Elliot rides Phar Lap to win the

, not knowing that blood was streaming from Phar Lap's hoof that had split.

Cast

''In order of appearance (Australian release)'' *

as Tommy Woodcock *Towering Inferno as

* Richard Morgan as 'Cashy' Martin * Robert Grubb as Bill Nielsen * Martin Vaughan as Harry Telford *Celia De Burgh as Vi Telford *

Ron Leibman Ron Leibman (; October 11, 1937 – December 6, 2019) was an American actor. He won both the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play in 1993 for his performance as Roy Cohn in ''Angels in Amer ...

as David J. Davis *Henry Duvall as Aubrey Ping * Pat Thomson as Edith Bone *

Gia Carides Gia Carides (born 7 June 1964) is an Australian actress. She portrayed Liz Holt in '' Strictly Ballroom'', Susy Connor in '' Brilliant Lies'', and Cousin Nikki in ''My Big Fat Greek Wedding.'' Early life Carides was born in Sydney, Australia, ...

as Emma Bone / Woodcock (credited as Georgia Carr) *

Judy Morris Judith Ann Morris (born 17 February 1947) is an Australian character actress, as well as a film director and screenwriter, well known for the variety of roles she played in 58 different television shows and films, starting her career as a child ...

as Bea Davis *James Steele as Jim Pike *

as Lachlan McKinnon *

Redmond Phillips Redmond Bernard Phillips (5 June 1912 – 3 November 1993) was a New Zealand actor and writer, particularly of theatre and television, who worked in his native country, as well also worked in England and Australia. Biography Phillips was born i ...

Sir Samuel Hordern Sir Samuel Hordern (24 September 1876 – 3 June 1956) was an Australian businessman, animal breeder and philanthropist. Born into the prominent Sydney trading family, Hordern directed the family company of Anthony Hordern & Sons from 1909 t ...

Peter Whitford Peter Whitford (born 1939) is an Australian former radio, theatre, television and film character actor known for numerous roles particularly as wealthy businessmen and members of the aristocracy. Peter Whitford was born in Adelaide, South Austr ...

as Bert Wolfe * John Stanton as Eric Connolly *

Maggie Millar Maggie Millar (born 6 January 1941) alternatively Maggie Miller, is an Australian former actress, artist, writer, radio personality and public relations officer. She is known for her television series roles in '' Bellbird'', ''The Sullivans'' ...

as May Holmes *

Tim Robertson Tim Robertson is an Australian actor and writer. He is a graduate of the University of Western Australia] (1965) and taught at Flinders University in Adelaide, where he began adapting and directing plays. He joined the Australian Performing Gro ...

as Policeman *Roger Newcombe as Jim Crofton * Tommy Woodcock as trainer * Len Kaserman as Baron Long *Paul Riley as

Soundtrack

A soundtrack was released by EMI in 1983.

Charts

Production

Producer John Sexton bought the rights to ''Phar Lap'', a 1980 book by Michael Wilkinson. Extensive research was undertaken by David Williamson and Sexton, then Simon Wincer became involved.Scott Murray, "Simon Wincer", ''Cinema Papers'', March–April 1984 p 29-31 The

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are ...

gelding who played Phar Lap was Towering Inferno. He was bred by Shirley Pye-Macmillan at Walcha, New South Wales and later owned by Heath Harris. Towering Inferno was killed by lightning on 15 April 1999. The real Tommy Woodcock played a trainer in the movie.

Differences from country to country

The

' version of the film plays out differently.

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

, who bought the rights to release the film in the US, edited the movie to play out in a more traditional way. Instead of starting with his death as seen in the Australian version, the film opens with

getting off the boat in Australia. The film continues like the original version and ends with his death. This was done to make the ending more dramatic, since residents of the United States were unfamiliar with the story of Phar Lap.

Box office

''Phar Lap'' grossed $9,258,884 at the box office in Australia, which is equivalent to $24,443,454 in 2009 dollars. Wincer later admitted he was disappointed the film did not attract the 14- to 22-year-old audience, and thought it might have been due to the movie's relative lack of romance. However, it remains one of the most popular Australian films. Disney Studios wanted to release the film in the US but John Sexton and Wincer decided to go with 20th Century-Fox because they had done ''

The Man from Snowy River The Man from Snowy River may refer to: * "The Man from Snowy River" (poem), an 1890 Australian poem by Banjo Paterson. * '' The Man from Snowy River and Other Verses'' an 1895 poetry collection by Banjo Paterson (including the above) * ''The Man ...

'' (1982). Fox spent $300,000 on changes to the film, and released it in summer. "We got killed in the rush," says Wincer. "It got nice reviews, but didn't go much business."Scott Murray, "Simon Wincer: Trusting His Instincts", ''Cinema Papers'', November 1989 p 79

DVD release

The "2 Disc Collector's Edition" released in Australia as ''Phar Lap: Hero to a Nation'' by

Roadshow Entertainment Roadshow Entertainment (formerly known as Roadshow Home Video from 1982–1993) is an Australian home video, production and distribution company that is a division of Village Roadshow (formerly Roadshow Home Video and Roadshow Entertainment) t ...

includes among the "extras" on the second disc a long audio recording of a conversation between Aaron Treve "Tommy" Woodcock and director Simon Wincer on 4 July 1984, and a short newsreel documentary ''The Mighty Conqueror'', which would have been first screened c. December 1931.

References

External links

* * *
''Phar Lap''
at Oz Movies {{Bruce Rowland 1983 films Films about horses Australian horse racing films Australian biographical drama films 1980s biographical drama films 1980s English-language films Films directed by Simon Wincer Films shot in Melbourne 20th Century Fox films Australian sports drama films Films set in California Films set in the 1920s Films set in the 1930s 1980s sports drama films 1983 drama films