Anita Salisbury welcomes me down the breezeway of the Bendigo Equine Hospital and then she stops, points, and says “they’re in there”.
Approaching the stable doorway, my heart sinks with sadness. Sitting inside is her husband Graham with their wheelchair-bound daughter Nicole and the sick grey horse I’ve come to visit standing alongside them, his head bowed.
From a small black bucket, Graham offers Subzero slivers of freshly picked grass, muttering away quietly as he pats him down the neck.
It’s a scene akin to a family in a hospital ward sharing their precious final moments with a loved one.
Graham is so transfixed on his beloved horse that it takes him a few seconds to realise I’m standing there.
Graham shared an incredibly special bond with Subzero | Image courtesy of Nikki Salisbury
It’s ‘Subbie' who sees me first and that draws Graham’s gaze towards the door. My old friend hops up from his chair and we embrace. Nothing needs to be said. Tears welling, we both know the dreaded end for his 31-year-old Thoroughbred will soon come.
The sight of Subbie’s frail body attached to a drip hanging down from the rafter above is overwhelming. I stand frozen with sadness for a moment. Under creaking old bones, he manages to walk over, nudges my leg and raises his head up to rest on my shoulder.
“He remembers you, Jo,” said Graham.
So selfless is this horse that in the midst of his own struggle he seems more intent on lifting our spirits.
“For him, this is the worst he’s been. It knocks the s**t out of you to see him like this. And you hope and pray he pulls through because he's been so good to me and for a lot of people.”
After a few hours of reminiscing, Graham, who has his own serious health issues with cancer, begins to tire and needs to get home. As we prepare to leave, he lingers a bit longer inside the stable. He walks up to his old horse, rubs him on the head and says; “Mate, I’ll see you tomorrow, okay.”
Graham with his mate, Subzero
Sad goodbye
A year on, and now there are no more tomorrows for this iconic pair. Graham lost his battle with cancer 10 weeks ago, and, after suffering heart failure, Subbie was euthanised on Saturday afternoon. This was the moment we all dreaded but knew would have to come one day.
For more than 20 years the elegant grey gelding who possessed a remarkable temperament deeply connected with people all over Australia and beyond in a way that no other ex-racehorse ever has or possibly ever will.
“He’s remarkable what he did and anyone that had anything to do with him from young sick kids to old people in homes they got so much enjoyment out of him,” he said.
“He’s remarkable what he did and anyone that had anything to do with him from young sick kids to old people in homes they got so much enjoyment out of him." - Graham Salisbury
Back when he was working for Racing Victoria as a Clerk of the Course, Graham knew from the minute he laid eyes on Subbie that there was something unique about him.
“When I first saw him at the races, I would get up alongside him on the way to the barrier and I would pat his head, around his legs and on the rump and there was no s**t in him. He was a beautiful horse with a nice big eye.
“So, I said 'listen Lee (Freedman), that grey horse, what’s going to happen with him?' And he said 'I will try and win a race with him first and then we will go from there.' I said 'I will leave it with you but I want to make a clerk of the course horse of him' and Lee said, 'okay, down the track we will see what happens'.”
A year later Subbie skipped through the mud at Flemington to win the 1992 Melbourne Cup (3200 metres). It was some win. As a teenager with an obsession for grey horses, I still vividly remember how captivated I was by the television images of him crossing the line in the pouring rain with Greg Hall standing high in the irons.
He never won a race again, and after 40 starts and prizemoney earnings of just over $2 million, he was retired in 1993. Lee kept his promise and rang Graham to tell him the good news that the horse was his.
And, so began one of the most remarkable journeys of a man and his horse.
Watch: Subzero winning the 1992 Melbourne Cup
A unique personality
They worked together as Clerk of the Course in Victoria for 17 years and during that time Subbie developed an extraordinary bond with the general public. He would often stop and poke his head over the running rail to let adoring crowds pat him or get their photo taken with him. He was a celebrity and loved every bit of it.
When he eventually retired from those duties a new chapter opened. Well known in racing circles for his quiet temperament, event organisers all over the country invited him along as a special guest to everything from black-tie awards’ dinners at Crown Casino to Spring Racing Carnival launches. If there was something important on around town Subbie was bound to be there.
Graham and Subzero returning Sunline (NZ) to scale during their time as Clerks of the Course
He became so popular that he even commanded more attention than rock stars.
“Three years in a row I took him to the Adelaide Cup and the third year I went Kylie Minogue was there. After she had done her show at the racecourse she walked right past me and gave him a pat and she said 'Subbie I have been outdone by you'.
"There were people lined up 30 or 40 metres all wanting to get their photo taken with him. Every one of them came up and got a pat.”
And he even had some of the nation’s political leaders on the back foot.
“I said to John Howard once, if this horse had two legs, he would have your job.”
“I said to John Howard once, if this horse had two legs, he would have your job.” - Graham Salisbury
Subbie had a gift. An ability to uplift people in their darkest moments. There are many stories that Graham could recount, including one day when they visited a group of terminally ill children.
Subbie kept pulling his way towards one young boy in particular, absolutely determined to meet him. Graham let him have his head and they sidled up to him.
“The boy didn't have long to go and started playing with his ears and around his eyes and stuck his fingers in his nose. His mother was there and she said to me I don’t know how long it’s been since he’s had a smile on his face like that.”
They were to be some of his last living moments as he passed away that night.
A gentleman for all ages
Subbie also had an impact on the elderly.
“One of the homes which was only small with about 30 people, rang me and asked if we could come to visit. I said it will be a month before I can get there but they insisted and said there were a couple of people there without long to go and asked could we come earlier.
“When I got there, a bloke was standing at the gate. They said old Tom hadn’t mixed with anyone and he'd been there for three weeks so I said let’s start with him first.
“I said g’day Tom. He said nothing. I said Tom you been here long? Nothing. Then I said this is Subbie do you want to meet him? He said yes…and started patting and kissing him.
“The woman that ran the place said it was unbelievable. A month or two later she rings me and she said do you remember old Tom? She said Monday night they play bingo, Tuesday cards, Wednesday they dance, Thursday is picture-night and Friday night they sit down for two hours with three or four form guides for the races on Saturday. Tom’s now got this place rocking and rolling. They have $600 in the bank and they are going to have a splash up at Christmas and you and Subbie are invited.”
Subzero had a gift to uplift people in their darkest moments
Graham and Subbie brought much joy to people overseas as well. They travelled as far as Dubai to attend the World Cup meeting as special guests. He almost didn't return from that trip.
“We were in a marquee with thousands of people and Keith Hillier and Bryan Martin were in there. He did his bow and a Sheikh came and looked at him and said 'I like this horse'. I will give you a Mercedes converted from left to right-hand drive and send back to Australia. I said 'no way'.
“Then another one said 'he’s a very nice horse' and I said, 'yes this very nice horse is going back to Australia.' He said 'what if I give you US$200,000 (AU$271,481) for him?' I said 'really' and he said 'yeah, is US$200,000 not enough?' I said 'it’s not that it’s not enough, he’s not for sale.'
"Bryan said to me 'gee you are pretty strong.' I said 'he's part of the family this horse.' Keith then said 'I’m going to back to the hotel to find a grey horse'” he laughed.
"He's part of the family this horse." - Graham Salisbury
Casting jokes aside he went on to add; “If it had of been anyone else, he probably would have been gone.”
Right until the very end, Subbie was the central figure in the Salisbury family. He meant the world to Graham’s daughter Nicole, who, after a series of operations that saw her contract a blood disease, has lost the full use of her legs from the knees down. She told me during my visit that day to the Bendigo Equine Hospital;
“He’s everything, I don’t know life without him. He’s like a big four-legged brother. I’m very lucky.
“There will never on the face of the planet be another horse come close to him,” she said.
We all agree with you, Nicole.
Farewell, Subzero
