Racing TULLOCH AND PHAR LAP

Press, Volume XCVI, Issue 28435, 15 November 1957, Page 4

Racing TULLOCH AND PHAR LAP

Colt Has Better Record

[From the Australian Correspondent of “The Press"! SYDNEY, November 13. Gradually Tulloch is dethroning Phar Lap as the greatest of Australian racehorses. On Saturday he nudged Phar Lap’s statue closer to the end of the mantelpiece by an effortless win over Sailor’s Guide in the C. B. Fisher Plate at Flemington. This weight-for-age race run over a mile and a half was a virtual match race because there was only one other starter, the four-year-old Araleum who has no pretence to being a weight-for-age performer. Sailor’s Guide, as was the case earlier in the meeting when he soundly trounced Syntax, went to the front, the plan being to make Tulloch race all the way. It was ludicrous to see Sailor’s Guide trying to slip away from Tulloch in the early stages. Wherever he was. Tulloch was at his rump, and at the end of the first half of the journey the rider of Sailor’s Guide, R. Hutchinson, changed plans and decided to rely on a dash over the last half-mile and more particularly in the straight to win the race.

It did not matter what he did, Tulloch was with him, going so easily that his rider. N. Sellwood, at no stage altered the position of his hands well down on the colt's neck. Tulloch went away from Sailor’s Guide in the last half furlong, beating him by five lengths—a pretty fair performance in 110 yards seeing it was accompanied against a horse of the proved calibre of Sailor’s Guide. Phar Lap became really great as a four-year-old even though he was always a champion at three. Outstanding Two-year-old

Tulloch’s record at this stage is better than the former champion because he has an outstanding two-year-old record where Phar Lap won only one unimportant race and he has won under adverse handicap conditions whereas Phar Lap failed in the only handicap he contested as a three-year-old—the Melbourne Cup. If Tulloch had run in the Melbourne Cup he would have won it for certain despite his 8-4 and then there would have been no argument left to doubt his superiority. This year’s Cup was one of the weakest on record. It seemed to take the field a week to complete the run in the straight.

The New Zealand-bred winner. Straight Draw, won not so much [because he is a stayer but because he was least tired of a very tired bunch of horses. Prince Darius was second and had he been a [stayer he would have won for certain because he ran up to Straight i Draw at the one furlong with every indication of running to the 1 front. Then he faded out just as the other horses faded out and Straight Draw plugged on to win. An indication of this weakness lies in the fact that the last halfmile took 491 sec. and year after year the last half is run in something like 48sec. Comic Court ran it in 471 sec and Delta 471 sec. Tulloch is now to go to Brisbane for an exhibition gallop to. win the Queensland Derby. Then he will have a holiday at home, light exercise and swimming through the summer months. It is unlikely he will contest a handicap this autumn. If he runs in a handicap at all it will be as a four-year-old.

Plans then are to take him to England and the United States with T. J. Smith as trainer and G. Moore as rider.

But he will not be sold —not even a firm offer of £lOO.OOO will tempt his owner. Mr E. A. Haley, to part with his champion.