“Is that the donkey I paid 160 guineas for?”
David Davis' reaction on seeing Phar Lap for the first time
Davis maintained a simple criteria for most of his horses; if they are not winning, and most were not, they, at the very least, should be good looking creatures. After suffering wave after mountainous wave of the Tasman Sea, like most who disembarked the liner Wanganella on this day, Phar Lap was looking the worse for wear. So when something gave the appearance of a donkey’s head having been sewn onto a giraffe’s body coupled with some God awful skin disease thrown in for good measure was being presented, Telford was fortunate Davis wasn’t holding any of his cutlery. His horror of seeing just what 160 guineas had, in fact, purchased being lowered slowly down to the dock, Davis went up like a flare hitting a fuel dump. Even Telford, for all his enthusiasm, admitted Phar Lap was no looker when he arrived in Australia. Even before they landed, Harry Telford knew enough of David Davis, to predict just how this would go. On receipt of his patron’s first withering salvo, Telford fully understood if Davis rejected this horse, he was financially ruined.
“If you think I’m paying a single shilling to have that monstrosity trained, you have another thing coming?" David Davis, The Mirror, 27 February 1954
There are some moments in life where you are not fully aware of their significance. On the other hand, this moment on the docks Telford now found himself in, was as blatantly pivotal as it gets. He was on a financial shellacking to nothing if this deal fell through, and he knew it. So, instead of losing about the only patron he had left, contrary to the mythology of having complete faith in his purchase, Telford was left with little option other than offering David Davis a Devil's deal to take on a 2/3 lease for next three years. Losing Phar Lap on the docks spelled Telford’s immediate ruination rather than possible demise later had Phar Lap turned out to be another of his plodders. For Harry Telford, paying back Davis his 160 guineas in the next few days was impossible. Both men knew it. So, reluctantly, Telford agreed to train Phar Lap at his own expense while giving Davis a third of all winnings. This deal, done in a blind panic was, from Davis’ point of view, looking like more insanity from his frantic trainer. Being adept at making deals, even Davis could scarcely believe, no matter how desperate Telford may have been, his trainer would be suggesting this. Apart from the buying price and shipping costs, for the next three years, Phar Lap would be costing Davis nothing. David Davis looked at his trainer knowing this was an awful deal. Even Davis may have been having a twinge of guilt as the men shook hands, “If that is what you want to do Harry, be my guest.”* Agreeing to accept all expenses and receiving, in all likelihood, two-thirds of sweet Fanny Adams in return for his efforts. Davis came away from the docks thinking he had just agreed to a one-third of zero and done his 160 guineas.
*Mirror, 27 February 1954
This lopsided deal did not make their relationship any easier. Even before Phar Lap’s arrival at the Sydney wharf, Davis and Telford were fraying around the edges for some time through the trainer’s continual lack of success. Phar Lap came so very close to being the permanent partnership breaker. David Davis remained adamant about not wanting to spend a penny on Phar Lap’s training and upkeep. Phar Lap’s shocking appearance managed to also rip open old wounds for Davis to remind his trainer of the many hopeless horses he had picked out for him in the past. As far as he was concerned, Harry Telford’s trumpeting of his so-called bloodstock skills was complete nonsense. Seeing Phar Lap for the first time came over as Telford’s piece de resistance of bloodstock madness. His trainer had written away to an orphanage and received back a three headed baby. As if for months prior, Telford had been selling him on the idea of a Rolls Royce and was now stuck with some broken down old Model T. But this can be an upside-down world. In this topsy-turvy, David Davis walked away from the docks expecting nothing. Telford walked away with his horse and a glimmer of hope.
After giving the Wheel of Life a hefty spin, just for once in his long arduous life, Harry Telford copped a lucky break. History has recorded, it turned out to be a very lucky break indeed. Despite the romance of this story of Telford developing Phar Lap into a champion, the reality of his overall training life is a little harsher. If racing were a pop chart, Harry Telford is your quintessential one hit wonder up there with Norman Greenbaum’s “Spirit in the Sky”, Nena's 99 Luft Balloons” and the “Macarena” by Los de Rio. In many respects, Telford’s closest friends were more talented trainers than himself yet the irony being none of them found Phar Lap, none of them trained Phar Lap and in a quirk of fate, none have the enduring fame of Phar Lap and by association the fame of Harry Telford. Even the very best horse trainers would be the first to admit, great horses make great trainers. Put simply, Phar Lap made Harry Telford.
There are other combined elements in the Phar Lap story working in Telford’s favour. In developing his awkward colt, there was an aspect to Phar Lap’s hard training where a more successful trainer may not have persevered. Firstly, Telford gelded Phar Lap. The colt was always reasonably calm and highly intelligent, but the operation settled him down even further and allowed Telford to put his charge through some genuinely tough training without him breaking down or resisting.* The other important aspect of Phar Lap's training, Telford could well have had a genuine belief in Phar Lap but was also desperate in seeing this horse succeed. Obviously, you cannot make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear. However, with the possibility of this being Telford’s last roll of the dice before taking his family from grinding poverty to homeless destitution, he was not about to die wondering. The trainer did everything he could to turn Phar Lap into the best horse his experience was able to produce. Again, a more successful, or busier trainer may not have worked, focused or even persevered with Phar Lap to the same degree as Harry Telford. On the other hand, they did not need to.
*Had Telford decided not to chop off the jewels, Phar Lap’s value in America could have been a 1930’s equivalent of Frankel, that is valued conservatively at £100 million, especially if Phar Lap started siring successful progeny.
Having Phar Lap solely in his own charge worked in Telford’s favour in transforming him into a champion. Rich owners could have been quicker dismissing Phar Lap as a failure and demand their trainer stop wasting time and energy on his training. Being a two-thirds lessee, and David Davis not really interested (nor providing a brass razoo on Phar Lap’s upkeep), Telford enjoyed having zero interference from anyone in what he was doing all day. That situation alone was the envy of most trainers as many would happily have their owners and patrons as far away from them as possible while they worked their horses. As his gelding started filling out and blossoming, most top flight trainers will have recognised Phar Lap's potential and honed their training accordingly.* There is also Phar Lap's capacity to handle long, grueling training sessions Telford put him through.
* The Mirror 27 February 1954
One year after a disgusted Davis agreed to a two thirds lease, he and his wife sat horrified in the Rosehill stand. They wanted to crawl under the seat with embarrassment watching Phar Lap run his first race in late February 1929. Telford placed his young apprentice, Cashy Martin in the saddle. However, to Davis’ surprise, far from being discouraged, Telford assured Davis, this was a promising run. “Harry, he ran ninth.” “But a promising ninth Mr. Davis.” Phar Lap followed this up with another unplaced run. Telford again explained to Davis enthusiastically, this was also promising. “Harry, he ran seventh and never looked like it.” “It’s better than ninth, he is improving.” “Good God, really?” A third unplaced run. Davis slumped back in his grandstand seat pondering the hopelessness of this situation. Thank God it was only 160 guineas because he was never going to be seeing that money again. When Davis caught up with his trainer, he again discovered him surprisingly upbeat by the result. Harry Telford informed David Davis things were now looking really promising. Davis realised he obviously knew nothing about racing, because to his untrained eye, Phar Lap looked as if he was never going to win a race. Maybe Harry wanted to think about steeplechasing for their horse?
Next race, the Maiden Juvenile Handicap at Rosehill for Two-year-olds in April 1929.* Harry Telford urged David Davis to put his money on. “On what? You can’t be thinking Phar Lap?” “Mr. Davis, he is 20-1, here’s our chance.”** Davis sighed, thought for a moment, what the hell, and backed him substantially in a field of 21 down to 6-1. David and Bea Davis took their seats rugged up like polar bears as a bitterly cold wind whipped through the Rosehill grandstand. They nervously watched their horse loping around into the straight. Phar Lap seemed a relaxed horse. Like the other races, possibly a little too relaxed as he appeared lost in the middle of the large field. Then his stride started lengthening as he sailed by one horse then the next, nudging up to the leaders. Davis found himself leaning forward as he shouted, "GO!" He felt Bea grab his arm, "Now Phar Lap." Jockey Jack Baker started stretching out further against the Magpie sired Voleuse as the two horses broke away from the rest of the large field. While Voleuse appeared to be straining for every stride, Phar Lap continued galloping on easily. Phar Lap only won by half a length. While the record books would record this as being a reasonably close race, Phar Lap never looked like losing by half a length to close out his two-year-old season with a win.
*This win occurred a month after Strephon’s last run in Australia. The two never ran against the other.
**Sporting Globe 1 May 1929
David Davis and his wife Bea looked at each other, stunned. Did that just happen? Davis realised this one betting win had paid for his paltry investment in Phar Lap and then some. Not only had Davis cleaned up with the bookies, for the first time he felt as if he really did own a winning horse. For Telford, this day is why you are up at three-thirty in the morning and why racing is such a great game to be in. In one successful race, Telford made enough money to pay off his many creditors, pay rents for months in advance and take the terrible financial pressure off his wife. He would enjoy the winter break with enough money to work on Phar Lap for his three-year-old season.
Despite being unplaced in his first few starts as a three-year-old, Davis realised Harry Telford had been correct. This horse would be the real deal. Then followed a cavalcade of success all owners and trainers dream of. The Rosehill Guineas, the blue ribbon AJC Derby, AJC Craven Plate then down to Victoria for the VRC Derby. Phar Lap had the 1929 Melbourne Cup at his mercy. From David Davis’s perspective, he had struck the deal of a lifetime. Without a penny outlay after his initial 160 guineas, suddenly the money started rolling in. Now Davis couldn’t wait for race day. Arriving in a constant jovial mood, racing journalists started seeking interviews with him to satisfy an increasingly curious public. Most of the journalists sought out Davis when they soon discovered trying to eke a comment out of Harry Telford was nigh on impossible. David Davis was upfront with his input into Phar Lap’s success.
“I have enough to live on comfortably but of course it is very nice to have the hundreds rolling in without an ounce of personal effort to be made.” Phar Lap by Jack Spinty
Then at some point, the penny dropped. To his mortification, it dawned on David Davis it was his struggling, poverty stricken trainer who had really struck the deal of a lifetime. Noted by the press after his successful 1929 spring carnival, “H.R. Telford has probably done better financially in the last two and a half months than in the whole of his previous career.”* Harry Telford, for all intents and purposes did have Phar Lap all to himself, but still had Davis to contend with. A task becoming increasingly annoying the more Phar Lap succeeded. From Telford’s point of view, the more successful Phar Lap became, the more he detested the interfering arrogance of David Davis.
**Western Mail 19 December 1929
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