Royal Ascot: Australian horse that was written off as 'dog meat' wins

A sporting fairy tale was realised yesterday when an Australian racehorse once written off as "dog meat" and sold for just £400 to a caravan-dwelling taxi driver, rode out victorious at Royal Ascot.

With observers talking about a "movie waiting to happen" and inevitable comparisons with that most celebrated of underdogs, Seabiscuit, Takeover Target delighted the crowds as he led a five-furlong cavalry charge to win the £200,000 King's Stand Stakes by a short head.

His owner, Joe Janiak, who only this year renewed his New South Wales cabbies' licence - "just in case" - said he planned to celebrate by cracking open a "few drinks" of cold beer to share with the bay gelding who has become an Australian hero.

Takeover Target's amazing story is still not over in the UK and the gelding was immediately made favourite to win Saturday's Golden Jubilee Stakes and scoop the prestigious double sprint honours at Ascot.

Mr Janiak, who says he is more at home in shorts and a T-shirt than the formal attire required at the royal meeting, admitted that he had been nervous at bringing his charge from the other side of the world. His optimism was rewarded after the horse overcame a poor draw to clinch victory in a nail-biting photo finish. "He travelled pretty good. That was my biggest worry. He handled that quite easy. He's a tough little horse. He's just all heart at the end of the day," Mr Janiak said.

Although Takeover Target started as second favourite in yesterday's big race, it was not always so. His story began at a rural auction in Australia three years ago. Suffering from apparently untreatably bad knees, coupled with a difficult temperament, the bay was one step away from slipping into horseracing oblivion when he was bought by the enterprising Mr Janiak.

The 58-year-old Polish immigrant, who subsidised his passion for horses with odd jobs and has spent the last decade living in a caravan, specialises in buying cheap and patching up, putting his acquisitions to the test in country race meetings in the hope of turning a profit.

In this "dogger's price" gelding, he spotted natural speed although he now admits instantly regretting handing over even this meagre sum when he examined the horse close up.

But after six months of tender loving care at his Queanbeyan base near Canberra - care which extended to sharing the occasional beer and even a slug of bourbon when the occasion warranted - something approaching a miracle occurred.

After seeing off the opposition at Australia's network of country tracks, Takeover Target was tested against horses at leading meetings. In the first 11 weeks of competition, he had raced six times, notched up six wins, and earned his new owner a remarkable 200-fold return on his investment. "He was a bit of a mongrel when we got him, but he's a happy horse now," Mr Janiak said, explaining his recipe for success. "Basically we kill them with kindness."

Yesterday's prize money takes the horse's winnings to more than £1m. Mr Janiak admits winning in the UK was particularly sweet. He had never left Australia until he boarded a plane for the UK three weeks ago. Once he returns home, money from Takeover Target's overseas adventures will bankroll plush new premises.

Mr Janiak insists he will stop racing the horse rather than risk injury and envisages an idyllic retirement in which his champion will canter along the beach and tour country shows.