Saddled By Bad Luck Phar Lap, the immortal Australian thoroughbred, is connected to one of the more chilling Mojo Moments in sports history. After the horse died in California (in what newspapers described as "mysterious'" circumstances), Phar Lap's Australian jockey decided that the horse's saddle was just too lucky to be disposed of. He ceremoniously presented it to a renowned rider named George "The Iceman" Woolf. The new owner was very pleased with the over-sized saddle, made from a special combination of kangaroo hide and snakeskin. In time, Woolf began using the saddle as often as he could. It became, of course, his personal Track Mojo. He even used the saddle on one of the greatest thoroughbreds ever - Seabiscuit - during some famous duels with War Admiral. But, on Jan. 3, 1946, Woolf was thrown from a horse named Please Me at the Santa Anita track. Woolf eventually died from his injuries. When friends went through his personal belongings, they found his Mojo Saddle inside his trunk. For some reason on that day at Santa Anita, Woolf had decided he didn't need it. ©1999 Middlefork Press << BACK TO EXCERPTS