Why were people inspired by Phar Lap's heart (it was 6.2kg)?

Question

Phar Laps heart- 6.2kg (14 pounds)- this is pretty big for a horse

but i still don't get why heaps of people of the Great Depression were inspired by this.

Big Heart = Big love/ affection?

and did people begin to realise money isn't everything?

cause I'm just trying to understand some things about Phar Lap and the Great Depression.

also References would be great

Answer 1

Big heart = will to win

People saw this horse go from nothing to everything in a time when everyone had nothing. Winning all those races gave people hope. Somtimes who just have to see or be apart of how a horse can change someones life to fully understand it.

Answer 2

The size of the heart matters for how well the horse will run.  A larger heart means that it will be able to circulate blood better which makes them more capable... there was found a correlation between heart size and having the stamina to run longer distances.

Secretariats heart was even larger than Phar Lap's.  Secretariat's broodmares were all very successful because they could pass on the X-factor to their offspring.  A large heart is passed from sire to the mares, then from the mares to the foals.  That's why Secretariat's offspring weren't as talented as him, but his grandchildren were successful.

The reason people were impressed by Phar Lap's heart is because they'd never seen a heart that size before.  They didn't exactly have the research to know that a larger heart made a better racehorse, but they knew it was special.  And it's very poetic, isn't it... whenever you see a champion, you say "he has so much heart!"  For Phar Lap and Secretariat, it's literally true!!