Australia's Seabiscuit?

Takeover Target, a 6-yo gelding once described as "dog meat" and purchased for £400 (about $1,300) by the taxi driver Joe Janiak, has a story that echoes Seabiscuit's.

"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." -http://sport.independent.co.uk/general/article1093511.ece

Takeover Target was given some TLC for 6 months, and when he began racing, he began winning... 6 races and 6 wins. His prize winnings now total over $2 million -- pretty good for a horse that might have become dog meat.

"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."

His jockey, 22-year-old Ford, says of the horse, "I love him. He is almost like a human being. You just pick up little traits. It's nothing in particular, but you just know when you are around him that he is there, and that he is aware that you are there. You can't help falling in love with him."