Australia: Racing museum is a ride back in time

The bridle and racing plate worn by Phar Lap in his last race in Mexico and strapper Tommy Woodcock's passport and visa. Photo / Australia Racing Museum

New Zealanders and Australians were shocked in 1932 when the hero of the Depression years, the big red horse called Phar Lap, died mysteriously in the US.

The cause of Phar Lap's death - and, for that matter, his nationality - is still a cause of transtasman racing controversy.

You don't have to be a racing enthusiast to be moved by the sight of the bridle and racing plate worn by the champion when he won his last race, the Agua Caliente Handicap in Mexico, on display in the Australian Racing Museum in Melbourne.

There's more poignancy in the passport and Mexican visa issued to Phar Lap's strapper, Tommy Woodcock, in 1931 for that fatal final trip to North America.

If you can't get to the Melbourne Cup next Tuesday, or if the threat of equine influenza forces its cancellation, then the museum is a fantastic way to get a taste of what makes the event so special.

Phar Lap is not the only legendary Kiwi - and, to set the record straight, the champion was New Zealand-born and bred - Melbourne Cup winner on show.

His great-grandfather, Carbine, won the cup back in 1890 and you can see not only the sterling silver ewer, salver and tazzas that made up the trophy won that day, but a piece of tail hair and the skeleton of the great 19th-century champion.

There's even a memento of Archer, who won the inaugural Melbourne Cup in 1861 and repeated the dose in the following year. Some time during the 1870s, a souvenir horseshoe was made from that first winner's tail hair. Yes, a strange memento, but there it is.

But the museum doesn't only honour the racehorses. Among the exhibits, some permanent and some on loan, are the entire 11 miniature cups presented to the greatest trainer of the two-mile winners, Bart Cummings, from Light Fingers' win in 1965 to Rogan Josh in 1999. There are some of the great Colin Hayes' trainers' premiership trophies here too.

Then there's the jockeys. Visitors can see the saddle used by Darren Beadman when he rode Kingston Rule to cup glory in 1990 and another that George Moore sat on when he won the 1967 Epsom Derby in England on Royal Palace.

Damien Oliver's 1996 Scobie Breasley Medal is on view, named after the great rider who progressed from taking three riding premierships in Melbourne to winning four jockey championships in England.

There's a colourful display of famous racing colours, including the Queen's 2003 racing colours, a gift from Queen Elizabeth II.

And what would the Melbourne Spring Carnival be without the fashion? In recognition of that aspect of the major race days, the museum has on display a number of outfits and, of course, those special event hats. There's the white peek-a-boo hat worn to the 2003 Derby Day races by Paris Hilton, a creation of master milliner Paris Kyne. Another is a spiral of feathers worn to the 2000 Melbourne Cup by Lillian Frank, a well-known Melbourne socialite.

But back to the horses. Champions other than cup winners are represented, including the Cox Plate sash and Japan Cup trophy won by Better Loosen Up in 1990. There's a timely reminder of the qualities that go into making a champion in the story of the mighty Tulloch. Winner of the AJC Derby and Caulfield Cup in 1957, Tulloch was struck down by a long illness and his racing career seemed over. But trainer Tommy Smith nursed the horse back to health and Tulloch made a triumphant return to win the 1960 Cox Plate in record time.

In the museum's showcase, alongside that 1960 silverware, sits the great horse's preserved heart.

The information panel beside it reveals that the expression "big-hearted" carries a literal meaning. Apparently the average racehorse's heart weighs 4-5kg, while Tulloch's was 6.1kg. And Phar Lap's heart, which is housed in the National Museum in Canberra, weighs in at 6.2kg.

Big hearts, however, don't only belong to the thoroughbreds. One of the famous races screening on the museum's film screen shows jockey Damien Oliver urge the Irish horse Media Puzzle to victory in the 2002 Melbourne Cup.

Damien's brother, fellow jockey Jason, had been killed in a racing accident in Perth the week before and there were tears in race-goers' eyes as he rose out of the saddle and blew a kiss skyward to his brother.

AUSTRALIAN RACING MUSEUM
The museum is in Federation Square, corner Flinders and Swanston Sts, Melbourne. It is open 10am-6pm every day, except Good Friday and Christmas Day. Admission costs $8 for adults, concession $5, children under 12 free.

MORE INFORMATION
Details about the museum are at its website www.racingmuseum.com.au. For general information on visiting Melbourne, see www.visitvictoria.com.