Forget Flemington. This November, the only race that matters is from 1930, and it’s galloping back to life every night at Sydney’s Hayes Theatre. That’s right, Phar Lap – the racehorse underdog turned champion with an enormous heart who took the cup just once but burns brightly in our national consciousness in museum taxidermies, postage stamps and a film from 1983 played during countless wet-weather days at primary schools – is now the star of his very own musical.
We meet the legendary horse – played with bright-eyed and winningly sweet naivety by Joel Granger (The Book of Mormon) in a horse-eared jockey cap and long red braid – as he arrives on Australian shores from New Zealand. His Kiwi accent is thick, he’s on the skinny side and, while he’d be happier doing dressage, he’ll race – if only because it’s fun – but he can only dare to dream as far as coming second in the Melbourne Cup.
