THE 1930 Melbourne Cup trophy won by Phar Lap, has possibly been located after a three-year investigation.
Even more startling than the news of the Cup's possible discovery, is the claim that the trophy won by Beldale Ball in 1980, Wodalla in 1953 and Phar Lap in 1930 is one and the same. The claims have been made by racing historian Dr Andrew Lemon in his new book, The History of Australian Thoroughbred Racing Volume III , which was launched yesterday.
Lemon's investigations into the trophy, stemmed from a claim by a NSW car dealer three years ago that he possessed Phar Lap's Cup, which was later proved to be a forgery.
According to Lemon, there is no doubt that the 1953 trophy was recycled for use in 1980.
The 1953 Cup was offered for sale to the Victoria Racing Club by a jeweller and was purchased in the 1970s, with Rodney Johnson, later the club's chief executive handling the purchase.
"We know that the 1953 and 1980 cup are the same because Rodney handled its sale personally and Lucky Rocca - who made the Cup for 30 years - has confirmed that he took the inscription off," Lemon said. "I'm satisfied I've eliminated every possibility but I'm not absolutely sure I've nailed it, so the question has to stay open."
His research has been helped by the fact that only a handful of men have handcrafted the Cup, since it was first made in its present three-handled form in 1919.
The maker's workbooks for all but four Cups since 1919 have been located but there is no record of a Cup being made in 1953. Over the years the size of the Cups have varied depending on the amount the trophy was to be worth and the price of gold.
The Cup presented in 1953 was much larger and contained substantially more gold than any Melbourne Cup made after 1930.
After allowance is made for the loss of gold through two refurbishments, the Beldale Ball Cup, which weighs 1045 grams, is consistent with the weight of Phar Lap's trophy (1088 grams).
The only Melbourne Cup trophies around this weight were made by James Steeth between 1923 and 1930. A process of elimination and comparison has been followed, which excludes all Cups apart from Phar Lap's 1930 Cup.
After inspecting dozens of cups over the past three years Lemon said it was surprising the subtle differences between them all, but comparisons between the 1980 Cup and authenticated photos of the 1930 trophy indicate strong similarities.
It has been established that the VRC were attempting to contain costs in 1953 when the larger Cup was presented and Lemon argues that the resale value of the Cup before 1953 would have been less than the cost of making a new trophy, even in Phar Lap's case.
There are several ways to refurbish the trophy but Lemon says that Rocca told him the best result was by polishing back, so X-raying the cup would not show any hidden engraving.
Lemon is hopeful that with further publicity, more archival evidence will come to light that could lead to a final confirmation of his theory.
The trophy in question, currently on loan to the Australian Racing Museum, is owned by Lady Susan Renouf, who when Beldale Ball won the 1980 Melbourne Cup, was married to the stallion's owner, Robert Sangster.
"I'll have to lift security now I've got three Cups in one," Lady Renouf said. "I was going to leave it in my will to one of my daughters, but I'll have to reconsider that now."
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