Subzero, nicknamed "Subbie" (26 September 1988 – 29 August 2020), was an Australian

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 Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

that won the 1992

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 ...

Life and career

Subzero was foaled in Australia. Trained by

Lee Freedman David Lee Freedman (born 12 August 1956) is an Australian thoroughbred racehorse trainer. and Hall of Fame inductee. In partnership with brothers Anthony, Michael, and Richard, he has been a prolific winner of Australia's major races in past 2 ...

and ridden by veteran jockey Greg Hall, the four-year-old revelled in the rain-affected going in the 1992

to defeat the favourite,

Veandercross Veandercross (14 October 1988 – 18 October 2014) was a New Zealand-bred Thoroughbred gelding who won 14 stakes races, (including eight Group one), and was chosen Australian Champion Racehorse of the Year for the 1992–93 season. Veandercros ...

, and the two-miler Castletown. The win was to be Subzero's last, but as one of the few

grey Grey (more common in British English) or gray (more common in American English) is an intermediate color between black and white. It is a neutral or achromatic color, meaning literally that it is "without color", because it can be composed o ...

winners of the race in the post-War era, his fame was assured. Upon retirement from racing, Subzero was employed as the

clerk of the course A clerk of the course is an official in various types of racing. Horse racing In horse racing, the clerk of the course is the person responsible for track management and raceday preparation at a racecourse. Important tasks of the role include: ...

's horse by Racing Victoria's long-time clerk, Graham Salisbury, and made numerous appearances on television, at charity functions and schools. In July 2008, he was fully retired as he had developed arthritis. In October 2009, it was reported that Subzero might need to be put down as the medication he needed for his arthritis became unavailable in Australia. The medication was subsequently sourced from the United States and Subzero continued to appear in public. In his retirement he was gentle natured, very patient with children and remained with Graham Salisbury until Salisbury's death in June 2020. On 29 August 2020, he was

euthanized 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 Bendigo Equine Hospital due to the onset of heart failure. He was 31.

References

External links

Product-maker flies the Pacific to help ailing Cup winner - Horsetalk.co.nz 1.11.09

Subzero's pedigree and partial racing statsSubzero visiting the Living Legends park
{{DEFAULTSORT:Subzero (Horse) 1988 racehorse births 2020 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in Australia Racehorses trained in Australia Melbourne Cup winners Thoroughbred family 4-m

Life and career

See also

References

Further reading

External links