FAT_AUSSIE Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 Hi all, A bit of useless info here which I guess would mean more to Ausies than others. I was just watching Temptation (nee, Sale of the century) and one of the questions related to the legedary Far Lap. I never put 2+2 together before but apparantly the horse was named after the Thai translation for lightning. Far Lap. FA... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Munchmaster Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 Phar Lap Phar Lap (in pronunciation, the words are run together usually as one word: "farlap") was a giant chestnut gelding, standing 17.1 hands, who is considered by many to be Australasia's greatest-ever racehorse. At the time of his death, Phar Lap was the third highest stake-winner in the world. Bookmakers offered very short odds on Phar Lap, even refusing to accept any bets on some races. Phar Lap was bred in New Zealand, but following his purchase, became a part of the Australian racing scene during his long and distinguished racing career. He was sometimes called "Australia's wonder horse" in that country. He was also called "The Red Terror" and "Big Red" the same nickname as the two greatest US racehorses ever, Man O' War and Secretariat. The name Phar Lap derives from the shared Zhuang and Thai word for lightning (Thai: à ¸?à ¹?à ¸²à ¹Âà ¸¥à ¸? fáa lÉ?ÃŒ?p, lit. 'sky flash'). According to the Museum Victoria, Aubrey Ping, studying medicine at the University of Sydney, had the track in Randwick, as a regular haunt, and he often talked with riders and trainers. He had learned some Zhuang from his father, who migrated to Australia from southern China in the 19th century. He was the one who suggested "farlap" as the horse's name. Telford liked the name, but changed the F to a PH to create a seven letter word, and split it into two words, so as to replicate the dominant pattern set by Melbourne Cup winners. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samak Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 fa lap = the sky sleeps fa laep = the sky flashes (lightning) fa rong = the sky sings (thunder) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julian2 Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 Thanks Munchmaster, I never knew that and have heard of Phar Lap all my life and assumed it was of Maori origin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MooNoi Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 Bet it shits the Kiwis off we claim him as our own when he was a Kiwi horse. Not really fair, to be honest. He won his races here, but like it or not, he was a Kiwi horse. (They can keep Russell Crowe too!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Munchmaster Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 I doubt anyone cares too much. After all, he was just a horse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MooNoi Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 Fark, Munchie... DON'T say that if you come to Oz! He's a national treasure here! Going to Oz and slagging off Pharlap would be like us going to Scotland and slagging off haggis, deep fried Mars bars, single malts, crap weather kilts, caber tossing, and fat chicks with bad teeth who are easy to get into bed! :grin: (Well, the chick I went home with in Crianlarich one night certainly was... ugh) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Free2Fly Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 Bet it shits the Kiwis off we claim him as our own when he was a Kiwi horse. Not really fair, to be honest. He won his races here, but like it or not, he was a Kiwi horse. (They can keep Russell Crowe too!) Damn right he was a Kiwi horse. We'll give you Russell Crowe back thanks all the same, plus you can have Derryn Hinch and the ghost of Joh Bjeilke Petersen... but we get back John Clarke and the pavlova. :grin: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Munchmaster Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 ....He's a national treasure here!.... I suppose it's to be expected in a country with waaay more animals than people! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torneyboy Posted July 26, 2007 Report Share Posted July 26, 2007 We are catching up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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