The Great Disappearing Act

 

“Both the owner, Mr. Davis and I consider it was asking too much of Phar Lap to win the Caulfield Cup and Melbourne Cup too. I have not backed him for a penny in these races and as far as I know, neither has Mr. Davis, who is not a betting man.” Harry Telford 1930 Daily Advertiser 16 October 1930, page 3

 

There are no certainties in horse racing. But if you could somehow control who was running, Amounis’ chances in the upcoming Caulfield Cup would improve significantly. David Davis was a heavy gambler and despite popular myth portrayed in the film to the contrary, so was Harry Telford. Most of the successful trainers were successful punters, many of the less successful trainers were also struggling punters; there is a correlation. The only reason why Telford’s gambling was seen as moderate, it was usually being restricted by his lack of funds. Davis and Telford jumped at this opportunity when it was presented. Telford may have had concerns with Connolly and especially Davis but he did trust Lou Robertson and Frank McGrath.

 

Harry Telford changed his property name to “Braeside Park” and found himself spending a fortune transforming it into a training and stud facility. However, Telford found himself up against two significant problems. Firstly, he was a tenant to the Metropolitan Board of Works (MMBW) and the other main problem was himself.* Telford always viewed himself as a skilled operator out of luck rather than necessarily being out of his depth. This overinflated opinion of his own abilities as a businessman, trainer, bloodstock specialist and manager was exacerbated by him also being a very ordinary gambler.** When the Board of Works realised they had purchased a “white elephant”, they decided to lease it. Due to the condition of the place, most prospective tenants from the racing community took one look at Braeside and hightailed out of there. Harry Telford should have done the same. He soon found himself having to re-lay the track, rid the property of noxious weeds, lay miles of pipe and employ dozens of men to attend to repairs and renovations. Braeside Park was a money pit and only for Phar Lap winning, the haemorrhaging of funds may have been even quicker.  Yet the real coup de grace to Telford's finances and subsequent demise of his Braeside Park dream came from his decision to buy, breed and train his own horses. A lovely dream and commendable effort but also one requiring a substantial bank account and enormous skill and luck. A direction even the more adept James Scobie, Jack Holt, Lou Robertson, Bart Cummings or Tommy Smith never fully embraced. Even though all these trainers owned horses either outright or in partnership, they never threw in their lot as public trainers to exclusively run their own horses. And the story of how it went completely pear shaped for Harry Telford does become something of a cautionary tale as to why trainers do not take on such risk.  

* Sporting Globe 9 December 1931, page 6

** The property "Braeside Park" was originally owned by Dr. Arthur Syme, who raced his horses under the nom de course “Mr. S. Rawdon” with his very astute gambling trainer Adam Skirving. Syme set his property up only to have it go to wreck and ruin after selling to the MMBW who were agisting starving horses over the land.

*** Sporting Globe 9 December 1931, page 6

Buried heavily in debt over leasing his Braeside property was then compounded from buying more horses than a mustang stampede in such a ludicrously short time. This situation was all Telford’s making. It also further undermines his reputation as being a bloodstock whizz, for most of his choices turned out to be duds that could neither race nor breed champions. The true motivator for Telford accepting to withdraw Phar Lap from the Caulfield Cup was money. The closer Telford came to the Caulfield Cup, the less convincing was required for him to withdraw Phar Lap at the last moment. Closer to the mark, with such a dire economic situation now spinning out of control, Telford leaped at this opportunity.  What was more, he really did not care who was involved? By now, Harry Telford was so financially screwed, Beelzebub could have been driving this loose affiliation of grifters, and he still would have been in boots and all. He needed money urgently and thank goodness for the spring racing carnival and this monstrously large, ethically dubious double to extract him from a deep pit of doo-doo he was now up to his nostrils in.  In a very short period, Harry Telford had shifted his finances from simply day to day grinding impoverishment to now knowing a gnawing deep seated, keep you awake at night terror that comes with insurmountable, unpayable debt. 

 

Nightmarch was again brought over to Australia in 1930 for the Sydney autumn carnival but by then his younger half-brother Phar Lap was all conquering. Nightmarch came second to Phar Lap in the RRC Hill Stakes, AJC Craven Plate, AJC Plate (Queen Elizabeth Stakes), AJC Chelmsford Stakes, third behind him in the Chipping Norton Stakes and finally come the spring racing season, second to Phar Lap in the AJC Spring Stakes (Colin Stephen Quality Stakes) and third behind both Amounis and Phar Lap in the AJC Warwick Stakes. The accepted story, when Nightmarch started being defeated so consistently by Phar Lap again in the spring, Alf Louisson and trainer Alex McAulay had simply had enough. They decided to go back to New Zealand for the New Zealand Cup rather than waste any more time trying vainly to defeat Phar Lap in the Caulfield Cup. It looked like a smart move as Nightmarch won both the 1930 New Zealand Cup carrying 60 kilos (130 pounds or 9.4 stone) and Canterbury Cup on their return home.* The real story lies in the timing of Louisson’s return to New Zealand and how it assisted so handsomely this incredibly lucrative plunge.  

* From Go to Whoa – Peter Pierce and Rhett Kirkwood

 

On the surface, the decision for Nightmarch's returning to New Zealand during the spring carnival was made without influence by just Alf Louisson and his trainer Alex McAulay. Most people in the racing community wondered why Louisson even bothered bringing Nightmarch over in the first place. But once here, it did appear Nightmarch would be in the Caulfield Cup. But then, in the background, was Connolly and Louisson's relationship from the year before. In the spirit of friendship, Connolly would have discussed with Alf Louisson how it would be more financially beneficial for him and, more importantly, better for New Zealand racing to take Nightmarsh home to win a New Zealand Cup. It was an opinion held by many in the New Zealand racing communities, New Zealand horses winning the Caulfield, Melbourne and New Zealand Cup in the one year would be great for fillip for New Zealand pride in these dark times. Or Louisson, member of the New Zealand Racing Conference and racehorse owner, could instead have the constant embarrassment of losing to Phar Lap. For this ruse to continue, all they needed from Telford was to keep maintaining Phar Lap would definitely be running in the Caulfield Cup. Even then, Louisson and McAulay were unsure what exactly to do until they asked the only innocent they could trust. Tommy Woodcock, who pretended he knew as much as a mushroom, telling McAulay Phar Lap was definitely starting in the Caulfield Cup. Woodcock later changed his story to one of being a little more knowledgeable when he explained to the Hobart Mercury in 1936,

 

“I knew that Phar Lap’s next race was to be the W.S. Cox Plate at Moonee Valley (run a week after the Caulfield Cup), but I could not disclose Telford’s plan (to Nightmarch’s trainer Alex McAulay). Had I tipped McAulay off that they were trying to freeze Nightmarch out of the Caulfield Cup to make things easier for Amounis I would have fared twenty times better than I did (Woodcock had a £2,000 to £4 double on Nightmarch and Phar Lap Cups double). McAulay looked dejected when I told him Phar Lap was going to Melbourne, “It’s no use my going to Melbourne to pull Phar Lap on, he’s too good for my chap!” “Plaything of Gamblers – Story of a Colossal Bluff” by Tommy Woodcock - The Mercury, 24 October 1936, page 6

 

Unknowingly the story reveals Telford was well and truly in on the sting, as was Woodcock. Once Alf Louisson had come to his decision to withdraw Nightmarch, Connolly asked Louisson as a favour to hold off announcing his departure until the last moment (so they could scramble a few more bets in place around the country while the good odds remained). There is another more logical and very straightforward reason as to why Louisson waited as long as he did to pull the pin and return to New Zealand. There is a possibility he was fully aware of exactly what was happening and was given some incentive, and direction, from Eric Connolly as to the timing of his departure. There is no doubting the longer Nightmarch remained in the Caulfield Cup field the better the odds for Amounis. With Nightmarch being lifted onto a ship bound for home, at the latest possible moment to make the New Zealand Cup, it was one down and one to go.   

When Tommy Woodcock was bringing Phar Lap down from Sydney for the Caulfield Cup, he was instructed by Harry Telford to get off at Albury and not get back on the train for Melbourne. Train travel between the two largest capital cities was required to change at Albury because of the different rail gauges used in the Victoria and New South Wales networks. For four days over the Caulfield Cup weekend, Tommy Woodcock trotted and walked around Albury with arguably the best racehorse in the world. Not one person stopped to ask him what his horse was. The Melbourne Cup week was a very different story. There was not a day that went by a paper in Australia, or New Zealand, was not writing about Phar Lap. This horse had left the racetrack long ago and entered the public domain. As the publicity swirled around their champion horse, Harry Telford began to become more and more concerned for the safety of Phar Lap.

Every decade produces champion horses. Although the 30’s had its undeniable superstars, putting Phar Lap, Nightmarch and Amounis to one side, even the most ebullient racegoer had little to cheer over the 1930 Caulfield Cup. It was shaping up to be a most depressing affair at best. In fact, it would be fair to say, compared to the cavalcade of brilliant horses which competed throughout the twenties, almost without exception, the majority of horses running the Caulfield Cup in the thirties were incredibly ordinary. As an indicator, many of the winners and places were under nine stone (57 kilograms) handicap and many even under eight stone (50 kilograms).* Without Nightmarch, there were really only two horses of genuine note left, Phar Lap and Amounis. And maybe providing another crack of sunshine was the late, dramatic emergence of Cragford and the stunning transformation Robertson was now achieving with Soulton the further they progressed into the carnival. Yet all the while Phar Lap’s presumed presence remained, nervous owners and trainers were counting their pennies and had no wish to waste money on a fool’s errand. Much to the chagrin of the VATC committee, trainers and owners continued withdrawing horses in droves from the Caulfield Cup field despite Nightmarch now being safely back in New Zealand.** Then came the late announcement on Phar Lap. Well, very late to be more accurate. No doubt it would have been an interesting breakfast in the Louisson household when Alf picked up his morning paper to read about Phar Lap’s sudden last minute exit out of the Caulfield Cup. His immediate thoughts would not be Phar Lap, rather Connolly and that legion of New Zealand ex-pats, including Lou, who advised taking Nightmarch home.

* “The Caulfield Cup” Maurice Cavanaugh

* Argus & Sporting Globe. On the other hand Alf Louisson would not have felt he was cheated. He bought Nightmarch for £1,000 and in stakes alone made close on £30,000 and on top of that the betting wins. By the time he was five Nightmarch won 21 of his 53 starts, placed in another 21 and became a more than the creditable sire. Nightmarch was an incredibly profitable deal for Alfred Louisson. EVENING POST, 1 APRIL 1931, PAGE 8. In 1940, in a mock court where the Canterbury Patriotic Council were raining funds for the war effort by arbitrarily fining some of Christchurch’s more prominent citizens, Alfred Louisson was fined £10 10s for not producing another Nightmarch - PRESS, 2 NOVEMBER 1940, PAGE 12   . – Louisson had purchased Nightmarch’s half-brother, Nightguard that was a full brother of Phar Lap for $1,500 guineas in 1930 – the horse turned out to be an expensive dud - Evening Post, 23 March 1932

Harry Telford was infinitely worse handling the press than Lou Robertson could ever be. While Robertson may have been reticent, for much of the time, he enjoyed just playing the journalists. Telford, on the other hand, fluffed and bumbled around the press in a deep surliness that made Lou Robertson appear almost gregarious and jovial by comparison. His reasons why Phar Lap was scratched less than an hour before the final acceptance deadline was ludicrous, contradictory, and highly dubious. It also caught those usually in the know by surprise.

 

“When it came generally known that Phar Lap would not start surprise and disappointment was expressed in racing circles for the Cup discussions last week showed that usually well-informed racing men fully expected him to take his place in the field. Right up to yesterday morning it was evident that most racing men regarded Phar Lap as a certain starter” The Argus, 14 October 1930, page 9

 

Thousands of pounds were immediately fleeced from punters all over Australia (and New Zealand) to be later paid out to Connolly and co. when the real magnitude of this double hit.* At the time of Phar Lap’s withdrawal from the Caulfield Cup, no journalist had cottoned on to what was really afoot. Many of the papers, including the Truth who were usually savvier to the gambling side of racing than most publications thought at first it was a win for the bookies.

*  “Scratching of Phar Lap – Public are Fooled Again” Sporting Globe, 15 October 1930, page 1

 

“The scratching of the Caulfield Cup favourite has made him about as popular among racing men as a teetotaller at a licenced victualler’s picnic. Little more than 12 months ago, Telford was an insignificant man in the racing sphere; today he is more famous than popular… “The Truth” cannot recall such a callous withdrawal as the last minute scratching of Phar Lap from the Caulfield Cup… The public, by paying at the racecourse turnstiles, have provided the whole of the money which Telford has won with Phar Lap – well over £20,000 – and he should be grateful in them for having made him a wealthy man in an extraordinarily brief space of time.” “Uproar over Scratching of Phar Lap from Caulfield Cup – How Those Bookies Must Have Cheered” - Truth, 19 October 1930, page 14 

 

Most answers by Telford to questions on Phar Lap’s late withdrawal rested on lame excuses of not wanting to over race his wonder horse. Given against his track record, Telford gave the impression if there was a prize in a picnic race, he would have run Phar Lap. His excuses of Phar Lap being held up in Albury was quickly denied by Railway Commissioners who claimed the delay was under Telford’s expressed instructions.  All Telford needed to state, the Melbourne Cup was far more important and did not want to attract any more weight than Phar Lap was already being asked to carry nor risk injury for the big race. The press was certainly stating it as it would have meant Phar Lap racing around Flemington with a massive 10 stone 8 pounds (over 67 kilos).* Phar Lap may have been a large horse but he was not a Clydesdale. The blame would have fallen squarely back onto Lachlan Mackinnon and their VRC handicapper Davis. Now, Telford was making it look more of a scam than what it obviously already was.

* Sporting Globe, 17 September 1930, page 3 

Top weight Amounis immediately shortened down to a two to one favourite among the smallest Caulfield Cup field since 1880.* There remained in the whittled down field Cragford, Gay Mutineer, El Rey, Lineage, Shadow King, Dave Price’s Alcman and Lou Robertson’s Soulton all needing to be considered. Frank McGrath believed Amounis was in great form. Lou Robertson thought the same about Soulton.  Pat Quinlan still held out high hopes for Cragford. Both Quinlan and Robertson found themselves in an interesting situation. They could both pick up Caulfield Cups, both men had already invested a great deal of money in their horse winning and both knew of this ever increasing double needing Amounis to win. Both men knew  Cragford and Soulton were a chance of beating Amounis. Neither wished to be put in a position where they were instructing a jockey to pull a horse. Yet this plan had now snowballed to the point where there was now an unimaginable amount riding on Soulton or Cragford coming in second.

* Hutchinson, Garrie (Editor), “They’re Racing! – The Complete Book of Australian Racing” page 110