Author(s): Jessica Owers

Sport

In 1932, they said there would never be another Phar Lap. Yet within months there came a racehorse so wildly brilliant that he was instantly compared to the dead champion. He was Peter Pan. Within months of Phar Lap's death, Peter Pan had won the Melbourne Cup and then two years later, won it again - the first horse in 72 years to take home a second. The newspapers of the day called him a 'super horse' and declared 'another Phar Lap takes the stage'. But over the long years, Australia forgot their new champion. Peter Pan: The Forgotten Story of Phar Lap's Successor is the tale of the horse that came next - the brilliant, speedy Peter Pan. Casting off the shadow of Phar Lap, this tells the story of triumph during the Great Depression and the coming of a champion when Australia least expected one. It is time to restore the standing of our other great racing hero.