Subzero shot to prominence winning the 1992 Adelaide Cup, but his deeds off the track are what makes him great
Subzero’s record on the track – including winning the Adelaide and Melbourne Cups in 1992 – speaks for itself. But it’s his work away from the racing spotlight that has made him a true Australian champion.
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It’s rare that a horse with a resume like Subzero would be best known for his deeds away from the racetrack.
But Subzero is, simply, a very special horse.
In 1992, under the guidance of Lee Freedman, Subzero claimed the Adelaide Cup before adding the Melbourne Cup to his resume just six months later.
Despite claiming Australia’s most identifiable race, it’s his work alongside his best mate Graham Salisbury that holds Subzero in such high esteem.
They have visited schools, hospitals, hospices and retirement villages over the years and provided more smiles than most.
And last July, when the grey was fighting for his life, Freedman’s brother Richard declared Subzero greater than Winx in what he’s done for the sport of thoroughbred racing.
“I think he is the greatest living thoroughbred,’’ Freedman told Racenet.
“What he has done since his racing days finished – the amount of joy and the amount of service he has given to the racing industry, and the amount of joy he has given to the community, to people who are less privileged than ourselves, who are in a much worse situation than any of us, is immeasurable.
“He has done it simply because he was asked to,’’ he said.
His recovery from serious illness was news across the world and he returned to the scene of his greatest victory in November at Flemington on Oaks Day where he has a race named in his honour – the Off The Track Subzero Handicap.
Subzero will turn 32 this year.