Peter Pan: the blonde bombshell of Australian Racing Peter Pan: the blonde bombshell of Australian Racing

Nicknamed the ‘Blonde Bombshell’ for his flaxen mane and brilliant chestnut coat, Peter Pan became only the second horse, after Archer, to win two Melbourne Cups.

Early in his three-year-old season, he showed his class by defeating former Melbourne Cup winner Nightmarch in the 1932 Hill Stakes. He followed this with wins in the AJC Derby, AJC St Leger, and Melbourne Stakes, before securing his first Melbourne Cup victory later that year in just his seventh start. In a thrilling race, he recovered from near defeat to win by a half neck.

A bout of rheumatism in 1933 briefly interrupted Peter Pan’s career, but he returned stronger than ever. In 1934, now five years old and carrying the top weight of 61.7 kg on a rain-sodden track, he was given little chance of success with odds 14/1. His trainer, Frank McGrath, plaited and bound his tail to keep it clear of the mud, and jockey Darby Munro, at just 21 years old, guided him from the widest barrier along firmer ground on the outside.

In one of the great performances in Australian turf history, Peter Pan claimed his second Melbourne Cup by three lengths, giving Munro the first of his three Cup victories and solidifying the chestnut horse’s legacy as one of Australia’s greats.