David Davis
After the death of Phar Lap, David Davis completed his
obligations to the Australasian racing communities and general public by
organising Phar Lap’s taxidermied
remains to be returned to Australia, for the Victoria Museum. Along with this magnificent work performed in
New York, he sent Phar Lap’s skeleton
to Wellington Museum and his huge heart to the National Museum in Canberra. All
three exhibits continue to attract thousands of visitors each year. And in each
case, David Davis should be remembered as the person to thank for these lasting
memorials of Phar Lap’s greatness and
helped keep alive his horse’s enduring legacy.
David Davis will
forever be looked upon as the villain of the Phar Lap story in australasia.
Seen at first rejecting the horse on his arrival in Sydney, cynical of his
trainer and before Phar Lap’s first
race, damning of his assessment of even being associated with Phar Lap. Then, without having really
done anything more than to say “yes” to a desperate trainer, was showered in
the glories that come with being the owner of a legendary horse. Although Davis
was already a very successful businessman, he is unfairly viewed as riding on
the coattails of Phar Lap’s
extraordinary success. Then to further sour an already maligned reputation, it
was David Davis who was solely responsible for taking a national treasure over
to America. And it was on David Davis’ for Phar
Lap to be fully protected and for whatever reason, the horses died on his
watch.
There is, however,
a little more to David Davis than simply being Johnny on the Spot. He made
decisions at pivotal moments that neither Telford nor most other Australian
owners would have made. The big one obviously being his decision to take Phar Lap to America. Even before this,
Davis saw a way to the future that did not include Australian racing. Handicaps
that hobbled many a great Australasian horse in the past to prematurely and
unfairly curtail some astonishing careers were now a real cause of concern with
Phar Lap. Especially after the 1931 Melbourne Cup. It
spelt the end of Phar Lap’s career in
any handicap race.
Thinking outside of
the parochial box, it was Davis who envisioned a way forward for their wonder
horse. Imagine if Gloaming, Strephon,
Peter Pan, Manfred, Heroic, Gothic, Bernborough, Tulloch and a legion of
other great horses were to have had the same opportunity to take on the legends
of the US turf. Who knows, just maybe some of these horses would be spoken of
internationally in the same breath as Phar
Lap? For many Australasian owners, just like the anglophile Sol Green who
unsuccessfully sent Strephon to the
cold, dank climes of England, many thought it was English racing or
nothing. This is where fortune dealt Phar Lap an immortal hand to
international greatness. And it had nothing to do with anyone other than David
Davis.
After Phar Lap died, the ensuing circus and
inquiry into the horse’s death made David Davis even better known among US
racing officials. Partly because Davis
was being viewed not only as an American, which of course he was, but more for
the fact he was an unfortunate owner having just lost a magnificent horse. The
American racing public tended to be far more sympathetic towards him than
Australasians. The act of ensuring Phar
Lap’s taxidermied remains were first paraded at Belmont Park, then across
the country at Tanforan[i]
before being sent to Melbourne, also lifted his status in America. Two
questions were now facing David Davis.
Whether or not he wished to remain a horse owner and second if he wanted
to capitalise upon his American fame or keep racing in Australia where he knew
he was as popular as plague? Furthermore, if he were to keep racing in
Australia, would be still require the services of Harry Telford? Or indeed, now
that Telford appeared determined to own, breed and train his own horses, would
Harry Telford accept David Davis as an owner?
Like a bickering
couple where a child was the only thing keeping them together, the enmity
between Davis and Telford now became even more fraught. Especially when it was
discovered Phar Lap died in America
without a cent of insurance. This had been David Davis’ responsibility and
although his blithe attitude towards this lapse could be shrugged off by the wealthy
Davis, it proved a crippling financial blow to Telford. The trainer, with his
hopes of building a racing empire set firmly upon a foundation of Phar Lap’s success, were now headed for
ruin. Caused in part by Phar Lap’s
uninsured death and no longer producing any income, the major part of the
ruination would soon be coming from Telford’s ineptitude as a manager and
decision to buy his own horses. Where David Davis could walk away from Phar Lap and start again, Telford could
not. Instead of returning to Australian racing, where the Australian public
wanted to almost murder him for taking Phar
Lap overseas and racing officialdom despising him, David Davis decided
instead to remain focused on west coast racing.
In trying to repeat
the formula of having a southern hemisphere horse compete successfully in
America, in many ways Davis found himself falling into the same trap as Telford
– believing he could find another Phar
Lap at a New Zealand yearling sale. Pardon the pun, but in hoping lightning
would strike twice proved an expensive blunder for both men. Davis hardly knew
one end of a horse from another and started to believe he had been blessed with
some bloodstock insights and the ability to pick out a champion horse. After a
few seasons of financially draining failures, David Davis would also realise
there was only one Phar Lap.
A frequent visitor
at yearling sales, especially Trentham, if he fancied a horse, or took the
recommendation of a horse, it appears price was no object. His first major
purchase after losing Phar Lap was
another Night Raid colt Pillow Fight out of Weekend, a bloodline snaking back to King Fergus. Pillow Fight was bred by the son of New
Zealand racing legend George (G.G.) Stead, Wilfred (W.G) Stead at his stud
“Flaxmere”, Hastings. Stead died in 1932 leading to a dispersal sale. Picked up
for 2500 guineas by R.A. McLean[ii],
he in turn sold Pillow Fight to David
Davis a few months later who took him to America. Davis also purchased 1932 Arc
Royal Stakes winner Tea Trader, sired
by Ian Duncan’s Tea Tray. Like Pillow Fight, Tea Trader appeared a
sound purchase, and just like Pillow Fight,
he too was no Phar Lap.
David J. Davis
settled in Santa Clara Valley, between San Jose and Palo Alto, south of San
Francisco and created Oak Dell Stud with little racing or breeding success. He
later returned to Australia to purchase the 1946 Melbourne Cup winner Russia and took him over to America in
1949[iii]
without success. Russia joined other
Australian ex-pat horses doing stud duty in America including Shannon, Bernborough, Beau Pere, Reading,
Ajax, Colonus and Royal Gem. Possibly
the best horse bred by Davis was the moderately successful Phar Rong that he sold to breeder C.H. Jones. Phar Rong was sired by a son of Man
o’War, War Glory out of Xingu by War Cry.
David Davis passed
away in 1959. In the overall run of life, Davis was a very successful man and
needs to be given more credit in this story than what he usually receives. He
is also a great example of the vagaries of horse ownership. For most owners,
blessed with one great horse in your life time, you can count yourself among
the truly fortunate. Finding a second great horse is almost a miracle. Both
Davis and Telford vainly chased that second great horse to no avail.
Alf
Louisson
Alfred Louisson was
quiet and shy by nature but considered very generous and well liked among the
Christchurch community. He never married and died in July 1954. He made it very
clear in his will that Nightmarch was
to be looked after and never sold. The love
Louisson displayed for Nightmarch is
part of the great love stories between owners and their prized animals. And
there have been many. Nightmarch passed
away a few months after his devoted owner in October 1954.
Billy Pearson
Billy
Pearson passed away suddenly at the start of March 1938. The once powerful and
popular bookmaker had transitioned to full time horse owner. Although Amounis could be viewed as his standout
horse, he raced 1933 AJC Derby runner up, Deputy
Ruler and the mare Parody.
John Arthur
John
Arthur made his money in mines and spent a great deal of it on the race track.
Good friend and next-door neighbour of Eric Connolly, Arthur leant heavily of
Connolly’s advice. You would believe this friendship brought Arthur into close
contact with the Robertson brothers and direct access to the breeding knowledge
freely imparted by Andrew Robertson. In fact, John Arthur and Andrew Robertson
had been acquainted many years earlier. Arthur spent much of his early life in
Japan, spoke Japanese and had a fellow traveller in Andrew who never missed an
opportunity to visit Japan.
John
Arthur’s best horse, prior to the short lived Cragford, had been a Valais sired
gelding Fuji San, a wonderful weight
for age racer when at his peak. Bred by
Arthur from his St.Simon bloodline
mare, Lady San., most of Arthur’s
horses usually named with some hint to the Orient.[iv] John
Arthur died at his Brighton home in August 1948.[v]
[i] Located San Bruno (near San
Francisco) Tanforan Track was destroyed by fire in 1964
[ii] Poverty Bay Herald 10 September 1932
[iii] Brisbane
Telegraph 3 August 1949, page 28
[iv] Although it this case, Lady San was
sire by San Francisco. Even still, Arthur would have loved the “San” reference.
[v] Bloodstock Breeders’ Review
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