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Sub Zero Gone


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VALE - the great Subzero

VALE - the great Subzero
Subzero and Graham Salisbury. Photo: Darryl Sherer
Bruce Clark Article Author
Bruce Clark4:16PM29 August 2020

Australia’s most popular racehorse Subzero has finally succumbed to heart failure and been humanely put down.

It comes just two months after mentor and long-time friend Graham Salisbury died of cancer.

Subzero, the 1992 Melbourne Cup winner, achieved greater fame and adoration with Salisbury in their visits to schools, nursing homes, hospices as well as casinos, hotels and countless other promotional activities that earned them world-wide adoration.

'Subbie', as he became affectionately known would have officially been 32 on September 26.

He has long battled normally life threatening illness and injury from chronic arthritis to colic, kidney issues and peritonitis, but fought bravely until his heart gave way on Saturday and the decision was made by Bendigo Equine vet Sarah Jalim that it was time to put him down.

“I’ve never been confident of anything in my life, this was sadly the right time and this was what we had to do for Subbie,” Sarah said.

“I looked at him today and knew he’d been holding together for so long, sure he’d been missing Graham, but he’d accumulated fluid on his chest, heart disease isn’t common in horses, he’d had a heart murmur for some time, but eventually the heart decompensates that it can’t push the blood back.”

“He hasn’t suffered at all.”

She had been a long time ally to Subbie during in his ongoing health issues but says the veterinary decision was the right and only one.

“He was a gentleman, a thorough gentleman with an unbelievable heart," she said.

"If you want to compare him to champions, Black Caviar was unbeaten, Winx won lots of races, Subbie, he did so much for so many people and that’s how he should be remembered, a very special horse.”

It was Anita Salisbury who made the call to Sarah.

“He just wasn’t eating properly and was losing weight,” she said. “He just couldn’t go on like that.

"I was putting carrots in his feed and that was all he was eating.

“He’s gone to Graham, now they can create havoc together.

“There is no doubt he’d been missing Graham, every night he would come to the edge of his paddock looking to the house for him.”

The plan is for Subzero’s body to be cremated and there is a plan to create a memorial for both he and Graham Salisbury, possibly at Flemington.

Graham’s son Anthony marvelled at Subzero’s resilience since his father’s death

“It’s been a massive effort by Subbie to get this far, as we all know,” he said.

“This is how it was always going to be, the old man wanted it to be Sarah’s decision and he didn’t want to be around to make it.”

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Subzero....A Melbourne Cup winner who will be remembered most probably not for  winning that race but the joy he brought to kids unwell in hospital and mentally & physically challenged who loved to pat the big grey..............a horse that was loved by far more than just the racing community.

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