Deloraine, Tasmania, honours a famous thoroughbred

Tweet

We drove through Deloraine on our last day in Tasmania and came across this magnificent sculpture. The nameplate said ‘Malua’ so today I googled to see what I could find as I hadn’t heard of this horse. Apparently he was the most versatile thoroughbred ever bred in Australia. He was bred in Deloraine in 1879 and sold as a yearling to a former Premier of Tasmania. His sire was the English horse, St Albans, He raced in Tasmania as Bagot, was sold to the mainland and had his name changed to Malua. He won at distances ranging from 5 ½ furlongs to 3 ¼ miles (1,100 – 5,200 metres). By 1889 had won a number of races, usually with heavy weights. His successes included the Australian Cup and Melbourne Cup. He also won a much shorter race two days after his gruelling effort in the Cup. Several years later, he was switched to jumps races and won the Grand National Hurdle. By this time he was also being used at stud and produced nine stakeswinners. He was inducted into the Australian Racing Hall of Fame in 2003. In the suburb of Ormond, Melbourne, there is a Malua Street where the great opera singer, Dame Nellie Melba, once lived.