Farewell to a thoroughbred legend - Takeover Target retired
Warwick Barr
Saturday, 11 July 2009
Takeover Target’s fairytale racetrack career is over as he recovers from an operation to fix a cracked cannon bone.
Trainer Joe Janiak confirmed the legendary sprinter had run his last race when he spoke for the first time after Takeover Target broke down following his seventh placing in the July Cup at Newmarket.
Janiak told the Racing Post: "Thankfully, it's all good news. Takeover Target cracked a cannon bone but he's had five screws inserted and will be box rested at the hospital for a couple of months.
"He seems fine after the operation and he needs to rest. He has been a fantastic horse and we have had some great adventures with him."
Takeover Target raced in the lead group in the July Cup before fading out from the furlong as top filly Fleeting Spirit (12/1) survived a protest to claim the Group I.
A rising 10-year-old, Takeover Target bows out after a stellar international career after being purchased for a mere $1250 by Janiak, a taxi driver at the time, at a 2003 Inglis mixed sale in Sydney.
His first trip to the races resulted in a seven-length Queanbeyan maiden win in April 2004 when ridden by Jay Ford.
Ford would be in the saddle for 39 of Takeover Target’s 41 starts as they travelled the world picking off the best international sprint races, starting with the 2006 King’s Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot.
Takeover won the Sprinters Stakes in Japan in the same year. His last triumph on the international stage came in the KrisFlyer in Singapore last year.
The first of his eight Group I wins came in 2004 when he won the Salinger Stakes at Flemington.
Confirming his longevity, Takeover Target was still at the top of his game when he returned to racing earlier this year when he claimed Group I wins in the T J Smith Stakes at Randwick and the Goodwood Handicap at Morphettville.
Takeover Target retires with 21 career wins and earnings of more than $6 million.
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