View source for Gunsynd

{{Short description|Australian-bred Thoroughbred racehorse}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}}
{{Use Australian English|date=May 2011}}
{{Infobox racehorse
| name          = Gunsynd
| image         = Gunsynd statue.JPG
| image_size    = 220
| caption       = Statue of Gunsynd in Goondiwindi, Queensland.
| sire          = Sunset Hue
| grandsire     = [[Star Kingdom]] (IRE)
| dam           = Woodie Wonder
| damsire       = Newtown Wonder
| sex           = [[Stallion (horse)|Stallion]]
| foaled        = {{birth date|1967|10|04|df=y}}
| death_date    = {{death date and age|1983|04|29|1967|10|04|df=y}}
| country       = [[Australia]]
| colour        = [[Gray (horse)|Grey]]
| breeder       = John Clift, Joe McNamara<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.racingandsports.com.au/en/breeding-briefs/john-clift-and-gunsynd-story-356430|title=John Clift And Gunsynd|website=Racing and Sports|date=7 February 2016|access-date=21 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160508160936/http://www.racingandsports.com.au/en/breeding-briefs/john-clift-and-gunsynd-story-356430|archive-date=8 May 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>
| owner         = Bill Bishop, G. Pippos<br>G.N McMicking, A.V. Coorey
| trainer       = Bill Wehlow (at 2 & 3)<br>[[Tommy J. Smith|T J Smith]] (at 4 & 5)
| record        = 54: 29-6½-8
| earnings      = A$280,455
| race          = Hopeful Stakes (1969)<br>[[Chelmsford Stakes]] (1970)<br>[[Ranvet Stakes|Rawson Stakes]] (1971, 1973)<br>[[Epsom Handicap]] (1971)<br>[[Toorak Handicap]] (1971)<br>[[Sandown Classic|Sandown Cup]] (1971)<br>[[Emirates Stakes|George Adams Handicap]] (1971)<br>[[Futurity Stakes (Australia)|Futurity Stakes]] (1972)<br>[[Frederick Clissold Stakes|Frederick Clissold Handicap]] (1972)<br>[[Hill Stakes]] (1972)<br>[[VRC Queens Plate]] (1972)<br>[[Doncaster Handicap]] (1972)<br>[[Colin Stephen Quality Handicap|Colin Stephen Stakes]] (1972)<br>[[Caulfield Stakes]] (1972)<br>[[W. S. Cox Plate]] (1972)<br>[[VRC Queen Elizabeth Stakes]] (1972, 1973)<br>[[Blamey Stakes]] (1973)<br>AJC Autumn Stakes (1973)
| awards        = [[Australian Champion Racehorse of the Year]] (1972)
| honours       = [[Queensland Icon]] (2004)<br>[[Statue]] at [[Goondiwindi, Queensland]]<br>[[Australian Racing Hall of Fame]]<br> [[Gunsynd Mile]] at [[Doomben Racecourse]]
| updated       = 25 April 2010
}}
'''Gunsynd''' (4 October 1967 – 29 April 1983) was a champion [[Australia]]n [[Thoroughbred]] racehorse who won 29 races and [[A$]]280,455 in prize money. In his seven starts over {{convert|1|mi|m|adj=on|abbr=off|spell=in}} he was only once defeated, by half-a-head in the [[Epsom Handicap]].
==Breeding==
Foaled in 1967, at The Dip Stud, at [[Breeza, New South Wales]], Gunsynd was by the grey racehorse, Sunset Hue (by the imported sire, [[Star Kingdom]]), his dam was a twin foal, Woodie Wonder, that ran third at her only start. Woodie Wonder was by the sire, Newtown Wonder (GB). She was the dam of eight foals, six of which raced for three winners. A full brother to Gunsynd, Sunset Red, who won the WJ McKell Cup was the next best of Woodie Wonder's progeny.<ref name="Pring">Pring, Peter; "Analysis of Champion Racehorses", The Thoroughbred Press, Sydney, 1977, {{ISBN|0-908133-00-6}}</ref>
==Early life==
G. McMicking formed a syndicate with three others from his home town of [[Goondiwindi]] (pronounced Gundawindi) consisting of A. Bishop, J. Coorey and A. Pippos and purchased Gunsynd as a yearling for [[A$]]1,300 at the 1969 [[Brisbane]] sales.<ref>[http://www.barnesphotography.com.au/gunsynd/index.htm] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090503074617/http://www.barnesphotography.com.au/gunsynd/index.htm |date=3 May 2009 }} Retrieved 28 April 2009</ref> He was affectionately known as the ''Goondiwindi Grey'' because his owners came from Goondiwindi and he was a grey in appearance.
==Racing record==
Originally trained by Bill Wehlow, and later by [[Tommy J. Smith|Tommy Smith]], Gunsynd raced from 1969 to 1973.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theage.com.au/sport/racing/gunsynds-sandown-cup-1971-20051112-ge182h.html|title=Gunsynd's Sandown Cup, 1971|last=Daffey|first=Paul|date=12 November 2005|work=[[The Age]]|access-date=23 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181022232713/https://www.theage.com.au/sport/racing/gunsynds-sandown-cup-1971-20051112-ge182h.html|archive-date=22 October 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> As a four-year-old, under handicap conditions, Gunsynd won four major mile races (approximately 1,600 metres) - the Epsom Handicap, the [[Toorak Handicap]], the [[Emirates Stakes|George Adams Handicap]], and the [[Doncaster Handicap]], and, at five, was narrowly beaten by [[Triton (horse)|Triton]] in the 1972 Epsom Handicap. In the Doncaster Handicap, he carried {{convert|9|st|7|lb|kg|abbr=off}} to victory, and, in his second Epsom Handicap, was second with 62.5 kilograms. He then won the 1972 [[Cox Plate]], was third, with 60.5 kilograms, to [[Piping Lane]] in the [[Melbourne Cup]], and was named [[Australian Champion Racehorse of the Year|Australia's champion racehorse]] for the 1971–1972 season. Gunsynd was a favourite with the crowds due to his grey coat and his tremendous will to win, and was one of the best grey horses in the history of Australian racing.
When comparing Gunsynd's racing record and prize money to the prize money increases by 2019, if he had raced today his prize money would be over $10.9 million.
==Stud record==
In 1973 Gunsynd syndicated as a stallion for $270,618 and retired to [[Kia Ora Stud]].<ref name="du Bourg">du Bourg, Ross, ''The Australian and New Zealand Thoroughbred", Thomas Nelson, Melbourne, 1980, {{ISBN|0-17-005860-3}}</ref> His progeny included just four stakes winners of eight stakes races, Bensynd (1974), Tsunami (1975, won the Hyperion Stakes at Ascot), Midnight Gun (1977) and Domino (1978). Gunsynd also sired Ammo Girl, the dam of [[Emancipation (horse)|Emancipation]], who was named Australia's champion racehorse for the 1983–1984 season.<ref>[http://www.studbook.org.au/Horse.aspx?hid=123266|0 ASB] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303225252/http://www.studbook.org.au/Horse.aspx?hid=123266%7C0 |date=3 March 2016 }} Retrieved 28 April 2009</ref>
Suffering from [[cancer]], Gunsynd was humanely [[Animal euthanasia|euthanised]] at the age of 16.
==Honours==
Gunsynd was named the VRC Horse of the Year in 1972 and inducted into the [[Australian Racing Hall of Fame]]. In 1973 [[Tex Morton]] recorded a song ''The Goondiwindi Grey (The Gunsynd Song)'', written by Nev Hauritz and Brian Wallace, as a tribute to him.<ref>[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cs-ma-an6065121] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629150749/http://nla.gov.au/nla.cs-ma-an6065121 |date=29 June 2011 }} Retrieved 2010-10-29</ref>
25,000 people farewelled Gunsynd at [[Doomben Racecourse]] in 1973 where he participated in an exhibition gallop.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Sports|last=Dunstan|first=Keith|publisher=Cassell Australia|year=1973}}</ref>
A statue in his honour was erected in his hometown of Goondiwindi.
In 2009 as part of the [[Q150]] celebrations, Gunsynd was announced as one of the [[Q150 Icons]] of Queensland for his role as a "sports legend".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://statements.qld.gov.au/statement/id/64301|title=PREMIER UNVEILS QUEENSLAND’S 150 ICONS|last=Bligh|first=Anna|authorlink=Anna Bligh|date=10 June 2009|publisher=[[Queensland Government]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170524033717/http://statements.qld.gov.au/statement/id/64301|archive-date=24 May 2017|url-status=|access-date=24 May 2017}}</ref>
==References==
{{Reflist}}
* [http://www.racingmuseum.com.au Australian Racing Hall of Fame]
* [http://www.barnesphotography.net.au/gunsynd/index.htm Barnes Photography detailed profile and photos of Gunsynd]
==External links==
* [http://www.pedigreequery.com/gunsynd Gunsynd's pedigree and racing stats]
* [http://www.nvi.com.au/story/3716791/departure-of-a-racing-legend/  John Clift - the real Breeder]
[[Category:1967 racehorse births]]
[[Category:1983 racehorse deaths]]
[[Category:Horse monuments]]
[[Category:Australian Champion Racehorse of the Year]]
[[Category:Australian Racing Hall of Fame horses]]
[[Category:Cox Plate winners]]
[[Category:Racehorses bred in Australia]]
[[Category:Racehorses trained in Australia]]
[[Category:Thoroughbred family 6-c]]
[[Category:Goondiwindi]]
[[Category:Animal sculptures in Australia]]
[[Category:Q150 Icons]]