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Revered former champion sprinter Takeover Target is going home to where it all began for the Narooma Cup race meeting at Moruya on January 9.
Photo by Racing and Sports
It will be a warm homecoming for the former international sprint star as he returns to Moruya for the first time since he left the NSW south coast region as a young unraced gelding.
Takeover Target was bred and raised at Moruya's Meringo Stud. It's history that Queanbeyan taxi driver Joe Janiak picked him up as an unraced 4YO at a Sydney auction for $1375 in 2004 and banked more than $6 million prizemoney by the time the gelding he retired the remarkable gelding in 2009.
Janiak, who now trains at Coffs Harbour and keeps Takeover Target in nearby retirement, has accepted Moruya Jockey Club's invitation to attend the Narooma Cup meeting with his former world champion sprinter.
His return to Moruya will also mark a reunion of Takeover Target and Janiak with Luke Pepper, the former track rider of the champion galloper.
Janiak employed Pepper, now a successful Moruya-based trainer, as Takeover Target's regular track rider throughout his racing career. He played an integral part in Takeover Target's international success, travelling the world with the sprinter as he won feature races in the UK, Japan and Singapore.
It was Pepper who arranged for Takeover Target and Janiak to attend the Narooma Cup meeting where the crowd favourite will parade between races.
Pepper says he can't wait to be reunited with Takeover Target.
"He's one of a kind. It will be great for the big holiday crowd that attends the Narooma Cup to see a cult hero of Australian racing," Pepper said.
Pepper, who trained the 2011 Narooma Cup winner Ilringya, worked at Meringo Stud when Takeover Target was a foal before moving to Canberra where Janiak called on him to ride the gelding in his work at Queanbeyan.
Janiak will join Sky Channel personality Tony Brassel as special guests at the Narooma Cup calcutta at the Narooma Bowling Club on the night of Sunday January 8 prior to the gala race day.
The $22,000 Narooma Cup is the feature race on one of the biggest racing days of the year on the NSW south coast with more than 4000 holidaymakers expected to attend the popular meeting on January 9.
Moruya Jockey Club manager Brian Cowden expects Takeover Target will draw more people through the gate.
"It's always our best day of the year, but this makes it a little bit more special," Cowden said.
"Takeover Target will add some real glamour to the day."
