Gunsynd (4 October 1967 – 29 April 1983) was a champion
Australian
Australian(s) may refer to:
Australia
* Australia, a country
* Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia
** European Australians
** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists
** Aboriginal A ...
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...
racehorse who won 29 races and
A$280,455 in prize money. In his seven starts over one mile (1,600 metres) he was only once defeated, by half-a-head in the
Epsom Handicap
The Epsom Handicap is an Australian Turf Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race for horses three years old and older, under handicap conditions over a distance of 1,600 metres at Randwick Racecourse, Sydney, Australia in early October. Prize money ...
.
Breeding
Foaled in 1967, at The Dip Stud, at
Breeza, New South Wales, Gunsynd was by the grey racehorse, Sunset Hue (by the imported sire,
Star Kingdom), his dam was a twin foal, Woodie Wonder, that ran third at her only start. Woodie Wonder was by the sire, Newtown Wonder (GB). She was the dam of eight foals, six of which raced for three winners. A full brother to Gunsynd, Sunset Red, who won the WJ McKell Cup was the next best of Woodie Wonder's progeny.
[Pring, Peter; "Analysis of Champion Racehorses", The Thoroughbred Press, Sydney, 1977, ]
Early life
G. McMicking formed a syndicate with three others from his home town of
Goondiwindi
Goondiwindi () is a rural town and locality in the Goondiwindi Region, Queensland, Australia. It is on the border of Queensland and New South Wales. In the , Goondiwindi had a population of 6,355 people.
Geography
Goondiwindi is on the MacInt ...
(pronounced Gundawindi) consisting of A. Bishop, J. Coorey and A. Pippos and purchased Gunsynd as a yearling for
A$1,300 at the 1969
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...
sales. He was affectionately known as the ''Goondiwindi Grey'' because his owners came from Goondiwindi and he was a grey in appearance.
Racing record
Originally trained by Bill Wehlow, and later by
Tommy Smith, Gunsynd raced from 1969 to 1973. As a four-year-old, under handicap conditions, Gunsynd won four major mile races (approximately 1,600 metres) - the Epsom Handicap, the
Toorak Handicap
The Toorak Handicap is a Melbourne Racing Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race run as an open handicap race, over a distance of 1,600 metres at Caulfield Racecourse, Melbourne, Australia. Currently, the prizemoney is A$1,000,000.
History
The ...
, the
George Adams Handicap, and the
Doncaster Handicap
The Doncaster Mile, registered as the Doncaster Handicap is an Australian Turf Club Group One Thoroughbred handicap race for horses three years old and older, held over 1,600 metres at Royal Randwick Racecourse, Sydney, Australia. Although the ...
, and, at five, was narrowly beaten by
Triton
Triton commonly refers to:
* Triton (mythology), a Greek god
* Triton (moon), a satellite of Neptune
Triton may also refer to:
Biology
* Triton cockatoo, a parrot
* Triton (gastropod), a group of sea snails
* ''Triton'', a synonym of ''Triturus' ...
in the 1972 Epsom Handicap. In the Doncaster Handicap, he carried 9 stone 7 pounds (60.5 kilograms) to victory, and, in his second Epsom Handicap, was second with 62.5 kilograms. He then won the 1972
Cox Plate
The W. S. Cox Plate is a Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race for horses aged three years old and over under Weight for age conditions, over a distance of 2040 metres (approximately 1m 2f), that is held by the Moonee Valley Racing Club at Moo ...
, was third, with 60.5 kilograms, to
Piping Lane
Piping Lane (foaled 1966, died 1996) was a brown Australian Thoroughbred racehorse gelding by Lanesborough out of the mare Londonderry Air by Piping Time. Piping Lane came to prominence by winning the 1972 Melbourne Cup over 3,200 metres at odd ...
in the
Melbourne Cup
The Melbourne Cup is a Thoroughbred horse race held in Melbourne, Australia. It is a 3200-metre race for three-year-olds and over, conducted by the Victoria Racing Club on the Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne, Victoria as part of the Melbou ...
, and was named
Australia's champion racehorse for the 1971-1972 season. Gunsynd was a favourite with the crowds due to his grey coat and his tremendous will to win, and was one of the best grey horses in the history of Australian racing.
When comparing Gunsynd's racing record and prize money to the prize money increases by 2019, if he had raced today his prize money would be over $10.9 million.
Stud record
In 1973 Gunsynd syndicated as a stallion for $270,618 and retired to
Kia Ora Stud
The Kia-Ora Stud is a Thoroughbred horse stud situated near
Scone in the Hunter Region, New South Wales. Percy Miller purchased the cattle property Kia-Ora from the established Segenhoe Stud in 1914 and from there developed the Kia-Ora Stud.
...
.
[du Bourg, Ross, ''The Australian and New Zealand Thoroughbred", Thomas Nelson, Melbourne, 1980, ] His progeny included just four stakes winners of eight stakes races, Bensynd (1974), Tsunami (1975, won the Hyperion Stakes at Ascot), Midnight Gun (1977) and Domino (1978). Gunsynd also sired Ammo Girl, the dam of
Emancipation
Emancipation generally means to free a person from a previous restraint or legal disability. More broadly, it is also used for efforts to procure economic and social rights, political rights or equality, often for a specifically disenfranch ...
, who was named Australia's champion racehorse for the 1983-1984 season.
Suffering from
cancer
Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...
, Gunsynd was humanely
euthanised
Animal euthanasia ( euthanasia from el, εὐθανασία; "good death") is the act of killing an animal or allowing it to die by withholding extreme medical measures. Reasons for euthanasia include incurable (and especially painful) conditi ...
at the age of 16.
Honours
Gunsynd was named the VRC Horse of the Year in 1972 and inducted into the
Australian Racing Hall of Fame. In 1973
Tex Morton
Tex Morton (born Robert William Lane in Nelson, New Zealand, also credited as Robert Tex Morton; 30 August 1916 – 23 July 1983) was a pioneer of New Zealand and Australian country and western music, vaudevillian, actor, television host and ...
recorded a song ''The Goondiwindi Grey (The Gunsynd Song)'', written by Nev Hauritz and Brian Wallace, as a tribute to him. 25,000 people farewelled Gunsynd at
Doomben Racecourse
Doomben Racecourse is a horse racing venue in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is located in the suburb of Ascot, 7 kilometres north of the Brisbane central business district. The Doomben course neighbours another thoroughbred venue cal ...
in 1973 where he participated in an exhibition gallop. A statue in his honour was erected in his hometown of Goondiwindi.
In 2009 as part of the
Q150 celebrations, Gunsynd was announced as one of the
Q150 Icons of Queensland for his role as a "sports legend".
References
{{Reflist
Australian Racing Hall of Fame
External links
Gunsynd's pedigree and racing stats John Clift - the real Breeder
1967 racehorse births
1983 racehorse deaths
Horse monuments
Australian Champion Racehorse of the Year
Australian Racing Hall of Fame horses
Cox Plate winners
Racehorses bred in Australia
Racehorses trained in Australia
Thoroughbred family 6-c
Goondiwindi
Animal sculptures in Australia