The practice of trying to forecast winners during the running of races is fraught with danger. Sometimes horses can enjoy a cosy trip and give the impression they have a tankful of petrol, only to be found wanting when they come off the bridle. Those punters who fancy themselves as “in the run” experts, would have had plenty to say as they watched Jojo Was a Man go around in Saturday’s Drinkwise Maroubra Mile at Randwick.
Admittedly the race was handed to him on a silver platter, but the lightly raced five year old seized upon the opportunity to put the BM100 opposition away with disdain. Jojo Was a Man left the gates with urgency, but immediately came back underneath apprentice Reece Jones when it was obvious a good speed was guaranteed. Firstly Bethencourt sped clear from Mach Schnell and the well supported Steely. Jojo Was a Man settled in fourth spot with Bullfinch and Purple Sector well in arrears.
The action began at the 700m when Bethencourt showed premature signs of distress. Dylan Gibbons elected to push off the fence on Steely and was able to “plant” Mach Schnell three deep. Reece Jones could be forgiven for his unabashed giggling as he followed the trio of leaders around the turn. He could have stayed put for another hundred metres on Jojo Was a Man, but opted to stride forward rather than interrupt the gelding’s momentum. As the striking Tait colours loomed large on top of the rise it was obvious the race was all over. “The Man” made it two Randwick victories in a week, taking his record to seven wins and three placings from just twenty starts for a healthy $411,000.
Trainer John Thompson is the first to admit the horse has a strong liking for the Randwick track where five of his seven wins have been recorded, albeit one of them on the Kensington circuit. “Even allowing for his love affair with Randwick I believe Saturday’s win was his best so far,” said John. “He jumped beautifully, settled well in the run and let down like a good horse on top of the rise. Although he’s already the winner of seven races I think the best is yet to come. He’s also a great doer which is the main reason I decided to back him up twice in a week. He was better the second time.”
Jojo Was A Man and Reece Jones were airborne at the finish of Saturday's Maroubra Mile - courtesy Steve Hart Photographics.
Nowadays Jojo Was a Man is the consummate professional on and off the track. As a yearling it was feared his arrogant behaviour would preclude him from a racing career. “He arrived at my stable with a dreadful reputation,” said John Thompson. “He was a colt the first time he went to a breaker and proved near impossible to handle. The decision was made to geld him before having another crack. This time they were able to ride him but he couldn’t be trusted. He could buck like Rocky Ned when he came into work and we had to watch him every minute. Fortunately, I had a French trackwork rider named Mario Battung with me at the time, and he seemed to have a way with the horse. He rode him every day, and gradually got him to cooperate.”
It’s on record that Jo Jo Girl, dam of “The Man” also had a quirky nature but was tractable enough to win six races and post a whopping fourteen placings for Wagga trainer Tim Donnelly. Her first five wins were on Riverina tracks. Her last was in a 2590m BM75 at Randwick in 2014 by almost three lengths - as impressive a win as you could expect to see in that class of race. With this in mind John Thompson stepped Jojo Was a Man up to 1800m on three occasions in late 2021. The then four year old ran respectable races in all three, and actually ran a close third in one of them on the Kensington track. He hasn’t raced beyond a mile since, but John Thompson may be tempted to experiment again in the future.
It’s interesting to note that Saturday’s winner is raced by five of the six people who raced Jo Jo Girl - brothers James and Ollie Tait, Dominic Neate, Alex Warner, and Sinclair Munro. James and Ollie’s cousin Jim Nivison was part of the original syndicate but declined an invitation to share in the ownership of the mare’s first foal. The syndicate purchased Jo Jo Girl online as a three start maiden for $3,850 with the principal aim of winning a race or two in the bush. To their mutual surprise the mare would go on to win $154,000 before producing the innately talented Jojo Was A Man. Jo Jo Girl’s value has multiplied many times over, as has the value of subsequent progeny.
Mum was no slouch either! Here's Jo Jo Girl winning a BM75 at Randwick by a big space in 2014. Brenton Avdulla up. - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
Sheer sentiment influenced the group of friends to stay together for Jo Jo Girl’s stud career. “It would have been a shame to disband the syndicate after such a fun ride,’ said James Tait. “Following much consultation between syndicate members the decision was made to send our mare to Al Maher who was standing at the value fee of $8,800. As a Gr 1 winning son of Danehill, he looked a good match for Jo Jo Girl who’s by Reset, a dual Gr 1 winning son of Zabeel. We like to think our careful planning had something to do with the subsequent deeds of Jojo Was A Man.
“His three year old full sister is called California Grass and she’ll be back in work with John Thompson shortly. She hasn’t set the world on fire in three barrier trials so far but gives the impression she’ll appreciate a staying trip in the future, just like her dam. Jo Jo Girl also has a yearling filly by Hallowed Crown, a colt foal at foot by Shamus Award and a recent positive test to the same stallion.”
John Thompson has trained several horses for the Tait family in recent years. Here he is with Kathy O'Hara after a win with Zanbagh at Rosehill - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
Names like Jojo Was A Man and California Grass will be instantly recognisable to fans of Beatles music. Both names feature in the opening stanza of the band’s 1970 hit Get Back, a worthy follow up to the iconic Hey Jude. “All syndicate members liked the idea and we were delighted to learn the names were available,” said James. “Jojo Was A Man has done his bit to honour the classic song. It’s now up to California Grass to keep the momentum going.”
James Tait’s capacity for hard work is matched only by his versatility. Most days of the week he can be found managing his family’s historic pastoral operation at Gunnong-Jugrawah near Gundagai. He transitioned into this role on the retirement of his father, respected owner/breeder Sandy Tait. During teen years James was known to entertain family and friends with “phantom” race calls at social events.
Encouraged by friends he eventually gained a start at low key country meetings before coming under the notice of Sky Channel talent scouts around 2008. Today he’s the regular Sky caller for TAB fixtures at Albury, Gundagai, Tumut and Cootamundra and makes himself available when required at other tracks. On New Year’s Day he stepped in at short notice to deliver an outstanding coverage of the ten event Canberra programme. James was paid the ultimate accolade in 2016 when invited by Sky Racing and the Australian Turf Club to act as guest caller for the second running of the Country Championship Final at Royal Randwick. With trademark accuracy and composure he described the spectacular win by Clearly Innocent, who found miracle gaps in the hands of Tommy Berry to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
James Tait, pastoralist and race caller. Here he is in the broadcast box checking the colours before a race at Gundagai.
James is more than happy to leave the calling of Jojo Was A Man’s races to his Sydney counterpart Darren Flindell. The gelding’s autumn programme is undecided, although John Thompson is considering targeting races like the Hawkesbury and Scone Cups which could present him with a path to the Big Dance later in the year. “It’s hard to stop when horses are going as well as he is, but there’s really nothing for him in the immediate future,” says John Thompson. “He goes out on a high note and there’s no telling how much improvement there is. Other good judges are looking at him as a real Doncaster aspirant with a handy weight.”
John has forty horses in his Randwick stable which he says needs to regroup following the departure of some of his better horses. The talented With Your Blessing has gone to the paddock while the retirement of horses like Dreamforce, Le Lude, Sweet Deal, More Prophets, Fiteuse and Chat have weakened the front line. The trainer is looking forward to getting started on another Tait homebred in the near future. “Douceur has just entered the stable after a couple of seasons in Victoria with Pat Payne,” said John. “She has two Ballarat wins and four placings to her credit so far, but a couple of those placings underscored her talent. Just over a year ago she finished right on Willowy’s heels in both the Wakeful Stakes and the Kennedy Oaks. She’s a strong four year old now and looks a great prospect.”
I don’t know what it is about those famous Tait colours of all red with a white cap. They’re simple but striking, insignificant in print but vivid on the racecourse. Most of all they seem to represent a hallmark of quality. Few horses sporting those colours over the years have failed to win at least one race. Many have established distinguished racing records. Others like Heirloom, Cabochon, Baguette, Spinning Hill and Tie The Knot have taken the Tait colours to dizzy heights. Jojo Was a Man has to go to another level if he’s to tread the sacred path to the Gr 1 winner’s circle. Even if he falls short of the elite level, he won’t do the red and white the slightest harm.
Tie The Knot (Shane Dye) was one of the best horses to sport the Tait colours. Here he is winning the 1999 Sydney Cup by an amazing 6 lengths - courtesy Steve Hart Photographics.
(Banner image - Jojo Was A Man makes it 5 Randwick wins on Saturday. Bullfinch (right of picture) was 2nd and Almania (chequered cap) 3rd - courtesy Steve Hart Photographics.)