Even with all of the prestige he has brought to Australian racing with Takeover Target, Joe Janiak has never been an attention seeker, so it was no surprise then that you could have walked right past him without noticing his presence as he sat relaxing at a table, enjoying a quiet day out at the Sunshine Coast race-meeting earlier this week.
It is hard to believe that it has been thirteen years since Takeover Target last graced the racetrack before retiring with twenty-one (many famous) victories to his name from forty-one starts and with $6 348 650 banked in prize-money.
Given that he was a $1400 purchase by Janiak, this was indeed a unique tale of triumph for both horse and trainer which will always hold a place of great honour in the history of horse-racing.
“I’ve still got eight horses at the moment (as a part-owner) with different trainers,” offered Janiak.
“Unfortunately, my health is not the best, so I can’t do the physical work myself, but I’m still interested in racing … very much so.
“I stay right out of the training part of it though. I don’t advise my trainers. I leave that all up to them.
‘The horses I have got are only bread and butter horses. Some of them have got issues … so I leave it up to them to sort it all out.
“I just hope we can get a winner again. It’s always a great thrill wherever you get a win … even running a place here is a great thrill. (Janiak was referring to the third-place result achieved on the day by one of his runners, No Love Last).
“I would probably call my lifestyle semi-retirement … not retirement. I’ve still got stables at Coffs Harbour. If my health does improve … I might just end up with one or two horses that I will play around with myself.
“I enjoy country racing. I cut my teeth on country racing, and I will always support it.
“There is good prize-money in country racing now. Sometimes it is hard to get a run though … but it is going in the right direction.
“I’ve also got a couple of broodmares that I breed with every year, so I’ve got a small involvement there as well.
“It’s just a great game to be involved in,” concluded Janiak.
And it is a better game for having Joe Janiak in it.
