KEY POINTS:
The legendary status of New Zealand's mighty racehorse Phar Lap is about to get a boost in the United States.
A small bronze statue of the great Timaru-born, 17.1 hand Phar Lap is about to go on show at the American Academy of Equine Art's annual exhibition in Lexington, Kentucky, beating off hundreds of other applications from around the world.
The 75cm long maquette is the forerunner to a full-sized bronze statue of the big-hearted chestnut gelding which will be mounted outside the Timaru racecourse and unveiled late next year. It shows Phar Lap in his full stride of 27ft (8.22m) with jockey Jim Pike on his back.
Sculptor Joanne Sullivan-Gessler, from Auckland's North Shore, submitted the maquette to the academy for the display and it was one of 80 exhibits chosen from more than 600 entries from around the world.
The exhibition will run from September until November.
Sullivan-Gessler said it would also put New Zealand on the map as people saw it and decided to come and see the full-sized version.
- NZPA
