Takeover Target – last race turns out to be the July Cup

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Takeover Target and trainer Joe Janiak in Australia

 

I was much taken with this Australian horse when he came over in 2006 to win the Kings Stand at Ascot.   He then came over thereafter to contest the sprints at Royal Ascot and also to take in the July Cup.  Yesterday was the first time I had actually managed to see him in the flesh and I was absolutely gutted to read in the Post this morning that after finishing 7th yesterday he was found to have fractured his cannon bone.  I had to go to work for a few hours and I was worrying away, so was very thankful to read on the internet at lunchtime that he has been successfully operated on in Newmarket and after box rest should be able to enjoy his well-earned retirement.

He and his trainer have had a troubled time here this summer.  Forced to miss Royal Ascot due to a temperature he made the July Cup and ran a good race (especially considering the injury).  The story of the race was Miss Fleeting Spirit’s wayward drifts this way and that across the track, firstly impeding JJ the Jet Plane and poor Takeover Target and then hampering Main Aim and Kings Apostle.  Funnily, I was then embroiled in my own stewards inquiry having two companions who had backed the 1st and 2nd respectively.  Of course Main Aim’s backer was insistent Fleeting Spirit should lose the race but quickly I pronounced she would keep it.  We saw a) no contact despite the violent swerving and b) Main Aim having taken them along a bit looked unlikely to hit the front again although he undoubtedly ran on again.  After 10 minutes or so the real stewards concurred.  At that time though I was unaware of Takeover’s injury – if I had known I would have been beside myself.

Having seen the replay a few times you see him take an odd step just as the filly comes across him and I wonder if it happened then because whilst he was certainly holding his own until that point.  Granted he does blast from the front but watching the replays makes me wince because from that point on it looks like it is sheer guts getting him home.  When he went down to the start I got a good look at his conformation and it made me wonder if nearly all his fantastic record of wins has been down to sheer guts.  God certainly wasn’t setting him up as the classic racehorse when he glued him together.  He is quite low slung, sort of barrel-shaped and not terribly scopey.  I did say mention this at the time to the person I was watching with, wondering if a strange shape or action would be more demanding on joints as the years passed by.  Anyway, I was immensely glad to see him although I am sad it was to be his last race.

It is certainly true for me that when I am actually on course I feel I know less about what is going on all round.  I can’t keep track of the SPs or non-runners so busy am I rushing from parade (or pre) to watch them going down, then onto a vantage point via a Tote window.  I am actually much better off staying at home in front of the computer with all the facts and figures at my finger tips!  If I did that though I would miss so much – the silence of the crowd in the aftermath of a race when the favourite gets turned over, or there is a dramatic outcome like in the July Cup.  The little insights into a horse’s wellbeing that won’t get mentioned on the telly.  People watching and horse watching is far better done in situ rather than through the lens of a camera.

So go racing and be prepared to appreciate the finer nuances of the sport.  Ask yourself what you have learnt or recalled as you reflect on the day.  Mine were; don’t back the top-weight in a nursery handicap, don’t worry if your sprinter has a scratchy action to post and back Mark Johnston’s Shakespearian over a mile on a flat track.

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Tags: July Cup, Takeover Target