Phar Lap Home to Rest

A bronze statue of Timaru’s most famous resident Phar Lap has been unveiled at the entrance to the city’s raceway on State Highway 1. Timaru Herald sports editor Stu Piddington talks to the ABC’s New Zealand correspondent Kerri Ritchie about the ceremony and Timaru’s pride in being the birth place of this very famous horse. Three years ago locals came up with the idea of getting a life-size statue of the thoroughbred. Piddington says today the dream becomes a reality. “In the build up to [the unveiling] there’s been a lot of talk, a lot of, I get publicity around it. Last week they launched the specially labelled beer for $10 a bottle, a souvenir edition. So you can’t go anywhere in Timaru or South Canterbury without hearing about Phar Lap,” Piddington says. The 850kg statue was sculpted by South African born equine specialist sculptor Joanne Sullivan-Gessler who lives in Auckland.