Perc Galea, the "Prince of Punters" threw out £10 notes to the crowd when his Eskimo Prince won the Slipper

Despite the fact that the triumph of a remarkable black colt named Eskimo Prince transpired in the year 1964, it is astonishing that after a span of 60 years, that this particular victory remains indelibly etched in history due to one colourful and flamboyant, Sydney character. The inaugural Silver Slipper was won by Eskimo Prince in late 1963, preceding his victory in the eighth Golden Slipper in April 1964. Prior winners of the Golden Slipper, including Todman, Skyline, Fine And Dandy, Sky High, Magic Night, Birthday Card, and the mudlark Pago Pago, had already established the race's reputation with an impressive roster of champions. A top-class colt or filly was clearly required to secure victory in the race. Eskimo Prince was a product of the inaugural 1957 Golden Slipper winner Todman's first crop to race. Todman had been retired to stud after his five-year-old racing season to stand alongside his father, Star Kingdom, at Baramul Stud in the Widden Valley of New South Wales.

Eskimo Prince’s Golden Slipper victory landed a massive betting plunge, which was solely orchestrated by his big betting owner Perc Galea who was the former boss of several of Sydney’s biggest illegal gambling dens. A £12,000 lottery win in 1957 – a veritable fortune back then – helped fuel Galea’s punting and horse racing exploits. During his formative years in the economically disadvantaged Woolloomooloo neighborhood of Sydney, Perc Galea engaged in milk delivery as a means of earning income. Notably, one of his clients was an individual named Rod Dangar, who coincidentally owned a horse named Peter Pan. During one of Galea's milk deliveries, Dangar suggested that he place a wager on Peter Pan to win the 1934 Melbourne Cup at odds of 14/1. A young Galea followed his client's advice, and the subsequent substantial financial gain following Peter Pan's triumph guaranteed that the allure of gambling and racehorses would endure for the rest of his life. Galea dabbled in horse ownership with little success until he purchased Eskimo Prince for 6200 Guineas, who won his first two trials at Randwick by 9 and 10 lengths respectively in very fast time. This encouraged Perc to place £11,000 bet on the colt at his debut in the AJC Breeders Plate. He won by 4 lengths in race record time. Eskimo Prince went on to easily win the Silver Slipper and was set aside for the big two-year-old feature at Rosehill.

As Eskimo Prince crossed the finish line in the 1964 Golden Slipper, he had left in his wake another top Sydney colt Farnworth by four lengths and Victoria’s top youngster Star of Heaven, who was a representative from the stable of the great trainer of 2YO’s, Angus Armanasco. Trained by Cec Rolls and ridden by Athol Mulley, the jet black coloured Eskimo Prince, adorned in his bright white bridle epitomised the beauty of the thoroughbred breed as he returned to scale. Punters lined the fence of the enclosure to get a glimpse of the best 2YO in Australia. Perc Galea, who had a history of heart problems and was advised by doctors not to get excited, quickly ran to the winners stall to greet his plunge winner. Victorious jockey Athol Mulley who came to prominence riding the great Bernborough to 15 consecutive wins from 1945, retired for the first time in 1969, but returned to the saddle and did not finally quit riding until injury forced him to do so in 1978.

During the victory presentation the crowd chanted Perc's name, drowning out the speechs which irked the officals. Galea was invited to the committee room for drinks, and on impulse as he scaled a flight of stairs, he turned to face the punters again, Perc reached inside his suit – and produced a bundle of money and proceeded to throw £10 notes to the crowd. His unprecedented and remarkable gesture saw him dubbed “the prince of punters” for the remainder of his life. Eskimo Prince would go on to win the Sires Produce Stakes a week later, downing Park Lane by a length and ending his 2yo campaign undefeated. Perc publicly stated in Daily Mirror Column that, “The A.J.C. Derby’s mine, you can forget the Epsom!” This exclamation saw punters jump on Eskimo Prince for the Rosehill Guineas and the slick galloper duly delivered by accelerating away, with Galea plonking down £17,000 with the bookies. In the Derby Athol was unable to settle Eskimo Prince who pulled hard with a desire to go much faster, leading to the horse finishing a poor 7th.

However, Perc Galea’s betting exploits with Eskimo Prince were not always winning ventures. He reportedly lost hundreds of thousands of pounds, which in today’s dollar terms would be over a million dollars, when Eskimo Prince ran unplaced in a Group one Stradbroke Handicap at Eagle Farm in Brisbane in the mid 1960’s.

The Hill Stakes in Sydney in 1965 was the last Group victory for Eskimo Prince in Australia, after which Galea on-sold the galloper along with 20 broodmares to Rex Ellsworth of Los Angeles for $150,000. Shortly after arrival in America, the top vets in that country examined the horse and concluded that Eskimo Prince had only one healthy lung and also had a paralysed throat valve – The discovery of which only made his Australian racetrack achievements even more noteworthy.

Due to Perc Galea’s work background as an alleged manager for illegal gambling dens, both the STC (Sydney Turf Club) and the AJC (Australian Jockey Club) rejected his applications for membership over a twenty year period from 1955. However Galea reportedly had a lot of friends in high places, one of whom was the Premier of New South Wales, Sir Robert Askin. In 1975 Galea supposedly asked Askin for assistance in gaining membership – and miraculously Galea was accepted into the STC membership ranks straight away and also became a “provisional” member of the AJC in 1976.

During the 1970s, Galea enjoyed multiple successes with two of the progeny of that good race mare and matron, Winged Beauty. Sticks and Stones, a sprinter by Faringdon out of Winged Beauty, carried Galea’s colours with distinction, although it was his two-year younger half-sister by Dignitas, Princess Talaria, who proved the more lucrative, winning the 1976 A.J.C. Gimcrack Stakes at her first start and the following season the One Thousand Guineas, Edward Manifold Stakes and Marlboro Classic.

However the memberships to the STC and the AJC were short lived, as Percival John Galea died just one year after he’d been accepted (in August 1977) from a third heart attack. It was, to his family, a wonderful tribute that Perc Galea’s funeral cortège was over three kilometres long. It seemed that in life punters reckoned he was the best bet of the day – and in death they remembered his generosity. Upon his passing, Perc Galea’s estate was worth more than $400,000 – proof that on the balance of probability he had been one of the few successful big punters Australia had ever seen.

On Golden Slipper day 1964, many punters walked onto Rosehill racetrack to simply have an afternoon on the punt, but in their wildest dream they wouldn’t have ever imagined that an exuberant owner would throw them a week’s wages over the fence in what must surely rank as one of the great stories of the Australian turf.

RACE RECORD - 18: 9-4-1

EARNINGS - £19,025 (2YO SEASON)

TOTAL EARNINGS - £26,510

STC Hill Stakes

1963 Silver Slipper Stakes

AJC Breeders' Plate

1964 Golden Slipper Stakes

 AJC Sires' Produce

STC Rosehill Guineas

STC Canterbury Stakes