Great Australian article: It’s time for racing to honour Subzero, the people’s horse Columnist By Justin Cinque, 23 Jul 2013 Justin Cinque is a Roar Expert Tagged: Horses, Melbourne Cup, Racing, Subzero 3 Have your say Email .Related coverage Melbourne Cup 2013 news There have been 146 different winners of the Melbourne Cup but few have done more for racing than Subzero. As the 24-year old ghostly grey battles to regain full health, it’s time the racing industry honoured one its great champions. The fifth grey to win the Melbourne Cup, ‘Subbie’, as he is known, delivered Lee Freedman the second of five Cup victories when he charged away to November glory on a wet track in 1992. A Melbourne Cup victory is the icing on the cake for most thoroughbreds. But it wasn’t for Subzero, who was no ordinary Group 1 horse. When I was in primary school, you could’ve mentioned all the other Melbourne Cup winners in Subzero’s era – Empire Rose, Tawriffic, Kingston Rule, Let’s Elope, Vintage Crop and Jeune – and in response, all I would’ve offered was a blank face. But once you mentioned Subzero, I knew exactly who you were talking about. And I never saw him race. Subbie wasn’t the second coming of Phar Lap and his Melbourne Cup victory wasn’t particularly special. But two decades after his Cup success, the grey continues to build on his ‘icon of racing’ status. Subzero is one of racing’s great equine servants. For 15 years, Subbie spent retirement as a clerk of the course horse – employed, partially at least, as a calming influence on race-day for highly-strung horses. Quite ironically, in his younger days, Subzero was an edgy horse himself. Graham Salisbury, Subbie’s owner in retirement, brought a tranquil nature to the retired Subzero. Salisbury taught Subbie new tricks, including to bow and to answer questions by either nodding or shaking his head. Subzero became such a hit that he was made an ambassador for Racing Victoria, travelling to 120 schools each year with Salisbury to teach youngsters about the Melbourne Cup and the racing industry. The influence of Subzero’s school visits has resulted in some teenagers taking up careers in racing. Subbie’s growing public profile and popularity took the ‘92 Cup winner to celebrity status. Subzero has been ridden by the likes of Hugh Jackman and Kylie Minogue; he once opened a Gold Coast hotel and led a prayer session in Dubai. Salisbury estimates ‘the people’s horse’ has raised over $12million for charity in public appearance fees. But disaster almost struck in 2009. A quarantine risk prevented Subzero’s usual arthritis medication, Flex Plus, from entering Australia. If a replacement remedy couldn’t be found, Subzero risked being, well, placed in horsey heaven. The gelding was saved by ‘Rice Patty’ McPeak, the inventor of Flex Plus, who flew from America to provide Subzero with a further developed form of Flex Plus called ‘Equine SuperFlex’. The new medication had an immediate healing effect. And Subzero was able to continue his ambassadorial duties for Racing Victoria. But only last week Subzero was presented with another life and death situation. After the horse went off his feed, vets discovered part of Subbie’s bowel trapped between his kidney and spleen. If Subbie’s condition didn’t improve quickly, he would either have to be operated on or euthanised. It was a dire situation because even if an operation was possible, there was no guarantee an elderly Subzero would survive. Thankfully, Subzero’s condition has improved considerably and he is now resting in a Shepparton paddock in country Victoria. To reach peak health again, Subzero needs to replace the 80 kilos he lost in this latest dilemma. Good news on Monday suggested Subbie was making good progress. That is a massive sigh of relief for Subzero fans – and there are many of them. Few retired horses have brought as much joy to as many people as Subzero. As we approach the 21st anniversary of Subzero’s Melbourne Cup victory, now seems the perfect time to honour one of racing’s great equine servants. Oaks Day, the Thursday of Melbourne Cup week, famously hosts a 1400m race restricted to horses only grey in colour. As the calls from Twitter have grown louder, it’s time for racing’s administrators, in this case the VRC, to honour the legacy of racing’s most celebrated grey by naming the grey’s race ‘The Subzero’. Subzero is a true legend of Australian racing. The people’s horse deserves official recognition. Long live Subbie!
Posted on: Wed, 24 Jul 2013 10:22:02 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015