It is unfortunate that the renowned racehorse AJAX is primarily remembered for a defeat rather than his achievements

Ajax was a chestnut colt bred by Alfred Thompson and E.L. Balllieu that was foaled in 1934 at the Widden Stud in the Denman, New South Wales area. He was by the racehorse and sire Heroic, and his dam, Medmenham (IRE), was by Prince Galahad (GB), who won the Dewhurst Stakes. Medmenham was a race winner in Australia after her importation and was the dam of two other winners in Humorist and Hesione.

It was at his home track Caulfield that he made his racing debut on January 16, 1937. Sent around at 14-1 against 16 rivals, he made his mark from the get-go, running down race favourite Aldershot to win the Holiday Stakes (1100m). Ajax didn’t waste much time announcing himself to the world. Just four weeks later, he broke the 1000m track record at Caulfield in the 21-horse Federal Stakes. It would be the first of several time records Ajax chalked up, including setting the Australasian record time over 1400m in the Sires Produce at Randwick in late March. He went into the Sires on the back of two defeats to Caesar, but he turned the tables on him in Sydney when careering to a 5L win. Harold Badger became synonymous with Ajax, riding him to 30 victories from 37 rides on him, but in the early days it Maurice McCarten that was in the saddle. McCarten was in line to ride him in the 1937 Victoria Derby before getting suspended, and connections then went with Badger for the feature race at Flemington. They might not have got the win, but Badger was barely budged thereafter. Badger was on board for all bar one of the 18 successive wins.

After being beaten in the 1937 Victoria Derby by a half-head by Hua, Ajax then went on his winning spree. It started just five days later when he stepped out against four rivals in the Linlithgow Stakes, putting away Young Idea. He then headed for a spell before coming back for an unbeaten 1938 in which he started 13 times, taking out the Cox Plate (in record time) along with three wins throughout Melbourne Cup week at Flemington. The closest they came to beating him in the calendar year was a neck margin, but he held on in both the Newmarket Handicap and the Caulfield Stakes. Three-year-old filly Ena had an 8.5kg  pull on Ajax in the weights in the Newmarket, but the champ still had enough in the tank. At Caulfield, Avenger got within a neck of Ajax when the latter headed to the outside rail late in the 1800m feature only to still get the job done in course record time by half a second. Spear Chief was in the beaten brigade behind Ajax in each of the Cox Plate and Caulfield Stakes, well beaten in both. Ajax signed off for the year with the Cup week hat-trick, winning the Mackinnon (2000m) over Royal Chief, the Linlithgow (1600m) again over Young Idea, and finished off with the CB Fisher Plate (2400m) - again, Royal Chief was left to chase him home as runner-up. Behind Ajax in the Mackinnon and the Fisher Plate was also Allunga, who finished fourth in the Melbourne Cup in between those defeats behind the champ. Which takes us into 1939.

Ajax started in races over 1800m, 1400m, 2400m,  1600m, 1800m  in that order. There were gaps of seven, nine, six and 14 days between those runs - the longest gap coming in the lead-up to his infamous defeat in the Rawson Stakes. Ajax was looking to equal the  Australasian record of 19 wins, held jointly by Desert Gold and Gloaming. It was a major event, even though the horse was paying the equivalent of $1.02. Unlike his past three-horse races leading in, Ajax had good company in the Rawson, as Allunga and jockey Darby Munro took it to him mid-race in the 1800m event, piling on the pressure from the 1400m to the 800m as they went toe-to-toe. Spear Chief with Ajax's original jockey, McCarten aboard got off the back of the leading pair late to down the champ by half-a-length for trainer George Price. Many were seething with the upset result, particularly the punter that had £900 on for a syndicate, and the former South Sydney Rabbitoh that forked out £250 on Ajax. The streak might’ve come undone, but it took little shine of Ajax’s astonishing record. The defeat of Ajax still appeared on the front page of all the Sydney and Melbourne papers alongside news of the war in Europe. This was, and still is the most famous defeat of a short priced, odds on favourite in the history of the Australian turf, and it simply proves that even champions can have an off day.

He’d win another 11 races after that day, including the All Aged and Cropper Plate at Randwick in the ensuing weeks. Come January 1941, the retirement of Ajax was made official and he was sent for stud duties later that year. In 1948, he was sold as a 14-year-old horse to the USA for 13,000 guineas to Mr W.J. Smith, who later onsold to famous crooner Bing Crosby and his business partner,  Lin Howard. He’ll always be remembered as a champion given his 36 wins from 46 starts, claiming some of Australia’s biggest races, but it’s only natural that the defeat at Rosehill might even trump those successes for its infamy.

Record - 46: 36–7–2
Earnings - £40,275

AJC Sires Produce Stakes (1937)
Caulfield Guineas (1937)
Champagne Stakes (1937)
Rosehill Guineas (1937)
Linlithgow Stakes (1937, 1938)
All Aged Stakes (1938, 1939, 1940)
Caulfield Stakes (1938)
W. S. Cox Plate (1938)
Futurity Stakes (1938, 1939, 1940)
C.B.Fisher Plate (1938)
Newmarket Handicap (1938)
LKS MacKinnon Stakes (1938)
Memsie Stakes (1938, 1939, 1940)
Underwood Stakes (1938, 1939, 1940)
VRC Queen Elizabeth Stakes (1938)
St George Stakes (1939)
Melbourne Stakes (1938 ,1940)