JOE JANIAK, STILL BREEDING AND OWNING WINNERS

By Graham Potter | Tuesday, September 9, 2025

Joe Janiak, who set in motion one of the most endearing underdog stories in the history of Australian Racing when he purchased Takeover Target for $1 250 in July 2003, was at the track at the Gold Coast on Saturday where he witnessed the victory of his four-year-old gelding Speedy One.

Speedy One is owned outright by Janiak and he races in the famous silks of red and black checks with white sleeves and cap that Takeover Target carried to victory in no less than four countries on his way to a superb record of twenty-one wins from forty-one starts … a race record which included eight Group 1 wins.

Janiak was as low-key as ever on Saturday when Speedy One improved his race return to four wins from six starts.

Janiak has said previously that a series of health issues over several years have slowed him down but, truth to tell, he has never courted the spotlight and the quiet humbleness that has always been in play was still there on Saturday in as authentic a manner as that trait can be.

“I bred Speedy One myself … and I’ve got a full brother to him who is a little bit older,” said Janiak. “He’s called Speedy Target. He’s won a couple (and has finished second in no less than four of his last five starts) … and Speedy One has now won four out of six. There’s not much of him so weight is probably going to slow him down a bit, but we’ll see what happens.

“I had eight horses at one stage, but I’ve cut right down. They are the only two I have got. My health has let me down a bit. I’m giving the hands-on department a miss, so I’ve got a few trainers training for me now … but I still follow racing closely, that’s for sure.

“I don’t get out much. I drove up from Coffs Harbour to the Gold Coast for that race … and, also, it being Father’s Day on the weekend, I’ve got a son who lives on the Gold Coast, so it was good to see him. We had lunch on the Sunday. Saturday’s win was a nice present. It was a very good weekend all around.

“Looking ahead, I’m hoping to go to New Zealand in the New Year for the sales over there and have a look … and maybe get into a couple of syndicates.

“If you can only do so much health-wise you should enjoy what you can enjoy. That’s the best you can do.”

No conversation with Joe Janiak will be complete without a reference to the achievements of the mighty Takeover Target … and you might be surprised by his response to this question which was put to him, ‘what was the most memorable win of Takeover Target, for you …and what was the most defining moment of his career, for you?’

Remember, Janiak had the twenty-one wins of Takeover Target over a five-year-span to evaluate, but he answered without missing a beat.

‘For me, personally, two runs come to mind immediately. That would be his first Group 1 race which he won in Melbourne … the Salinger. It probably wasn’t one of his best wins, but it meant a lot to me.

“The most defining win … and one of his best wins … I’d say would be in Japan when he beat a horse that was regarded as the best sprinter in the world. We fogged him in Japan.

“That was probably his best win, but for me personally, it was his first Group 1 win that meant the most to me.”

When a win at Royal Ascot doesn;t make your top two highlights, you know you have had a very full and fulfilling career.

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