CHARLES LESKI AUCTIONS PTY. LTD.
13 Cato Street, Hawthorn East 3123, Victoria, Australia
Telephone:
Facsimile:
61-3-9864-9999
61-3-9822-2788
Email: contact@leski.com.au
A.B.N.13 081 928 921
Media Release
February 2nd,, 2009
PHAR LAP’S RACING BRIDLE TO BE SOLD
He was Australia’s greatest horse; a sporting legend that has endured for almost 80 years and yet very little
memorabilia associated with Phar Lap ever reaches the market.
This will change with the auction of Phar Lap’s racing bridle used by jockey Jim Pike in the latter part of
1931. During the time of its use, the remarkable stayer won first place in the Hill Stakes, Spring Stakes,
Craven Plate and the Randwick Plate.
Presumably the DNA of the great horse is embedded in the bridle.
Pike rode Phar Lap on 30 occasions for 27 wins, and was regarded as the best jockey of his generation. His
widow Olga sold this bridle with the rest of his riding gear in 1975. They again changed hands when Reg
Howarth of Tahoma Stud bought them at auction in 1998. .
Lot 377 will be offered for sale by Leski Auctions in Melbourne on Wednesday, February 11th at 5.30pm. It
has a pre-sale estimate of $3,000 - $4,000.
“It’s always a personal thrill for our staff when we get to handle Phar Lap memorabilia,” says Charles Leski.
“We see so little of it and yet Phar Lap was one of the very few sporting greats of that era to elevate
Australia in the eyes of the world.”
About Leski Auctions
Leski Auctions was established in 1973 and is one of Australia’s leading auctioneers of Sporting Memorabilia,
Australiana, Collectibles and World Philately.
Leski Auctions is a recognised leader in the area of early photography, art, wine, cameras, books, autographs,
entertainment memorabilia, medals, coins, stamps, aerophilately, cigarette and trade cards, maps, railway
memorabilia, advertising artwork and posters, and the Olympics, football and cricket..
It was the first auction house in Australia to introduce an on-line, real-time bidding system ‘Live Bid Online’™,
which allows participation from anywhere in the world. It currently runs 22 auctions per year.
Leski Auctions has previously sold many significant collections, including those of Shirley Strickland, Ron Clarke,
Sir Reginald Ansett and former RSL President, Bruce Ruxton. It has sold more ‘baggy green’ caps than any other
auction house in the world, and is one of the largest auctioneers of cricket memorabilia by value and volume.
Leski Auctions recently sold the newly-discovered Phar Lap horse tonic recipe book. It recently achieved a world
record price for a Bradman bat.
Managing Director Charles Leski is a registered valuer for the Cultural Gifts Program through the Department of
Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts. He is also the valuer of the displayed items at the National Sports
Museum at the MCG, Melbourne.
The company is located at 13 Cato Street, Hawthorn East 3123 Australia. Telephone +61-3-864 9999 and
Issued by:
Charles Leski, Leski Auctions
Michael Krape, Michael Krape Consulting
Tel: 61-3-9864 9999
Tel: 0403 135 880
charles@leski.com.au
michaelkrape@krape.com.au
NEWS 
