THE WAY WE WERE

THE GOONDIWINDI GREY: Foaled on October 4, 1967, at The Dip Stud at Breeza, New South Wales (owned by John Clift), Gunsynd was by the grey racehorse, Sunset Hue and his dam was Woodie Wonder (a twin foal at birth). G. McMicking formed a syndicate with three others from his home town of Goondiwindi consisting of A. Bishop, J. Coorey and A. Pippos and purchased Gunsynd as a yearling for 1600 dollars at the 1969 Brisbane Sales. Originally trained by Bill Wehlow, and later by Tommy Smith, Gunsynd raced from 1969 to 1973 ( his earnings being 280,455 dollars). As a four year old, under handicap conditions, Gunsynd won four major mile races. After winning the Cox Plate in 1972, he ran third to Piping Lane in the Melbourne Cup (exactly 45 years ago to the day) and was named Australia’s Champion Racehorse for the 1972-73 season. He was named the VRC Horse of the Year in 1972 and inducted into the Australian Racing Hall of Fame. In 1973, Gunsynd syndicated as a stallion for 270,618 dollars and retired to Kia-Ora Stud. Also in 1973, Tex Morton recorded a song The Goondiwindi Grey as a tribute to him. A statue in his honour was erected in his hometown of Goondiwindi. Suffering from cancer, Gunsynd was humanely euthanased on April 29, 1983, aged 16. In 2009, as part of the Q150 celebrations, Gunsynd was announced as one of the Q150 Icons for his role as a sports legend. The photo is of Gunsynd at his farewell appearance at Doomben Racecourse on May 7, 1973.