The transformation of a bad-tempered, buck-jumping mare without a race start at six years old is an example of patience being a virtue.
Justa Jillaroo had her first start at February’s Kangaroo Island Cup Carnival, after bad manners restricted her to Strathalbyn owner-trainer Dennis O’Leary’s paddock for the first five years of her life.
After several near misses, she broke her maiden at Bordertown last Sunday with an emphatic 6.5-length win at her fifth race start.
However, her behaviour almost curtailed her racing career before it began.
“I always give preference to my clients, and because she was mine she spent a lot of time out in the paddock – and when we started to break her in, she was very difficult,” Dennis said.
“She had an inclination to buck the rider and she even had an inclination to have a buck coming out the gates as well. She thought they were rodeo shoots, so she’d come out… and be into it for 100 yards.
“She was a pest. We had to ride her ourselves, because we couldn’t risk injuring a jockey
“I said, ‘We’ll give her six months and see how she goes down the track’ and we just kept doing that.
“We’d put her back to the paddock, then sort of half forget about her.”
Justa Jillaroo was on her final chance last year when summoned from the paddock.
“This last six months we thought, ‘Why don’t we have one more go with her?’,” Dennis said.
“And what do you know – she came back a lot quieter horse in her nature, more sensible and without that inclination to continually buck.
“We tried a lot of different things… and this last time she was definitely easier to ride.
“So we trucked on with her, and got to the stage where we could trial her without her bucking.
“We decided to head to the races and now she’s a lovely ride.”
Dennis said Justa Jillaroo had three or four short preparations before finally losing her grumpy edge.
“They generally grow out of these problems with some maturity,” he said.
Dennis and his son, and stable foreman, Patty, had galloped Justa Jillaroo – a cheap Magic Millions purchase, by unfashionable sire Dr Doute’s – alongside the stable’s well-performed horses Table of Wisdom and Wylie Ol’ Coyote.
And she kept up, prompting Dennis to back her with confidence when she finally made her racetrack debut in a maiden at Kangaroo Island.
“We knew she plenty of ability; she was quite quick,” Dennis said.
“We had a decent crack… and we got beat in a photo finish basically.
“But she’s been consistent since, running places, and on Sunday she delivered.”
From five starts, Justa Jillaroo has now posted a win and four placings. Dennis says she is currently “recharging her batteries” at his Normanville property, benefiting from what he describes as the three main advantages of the seaside setting: “Dr Time, Dr Sea and Dr Green (grass).”
Meanwhile Dennis hopes stable star Table of Wisdom can make a mark at the upcoming 2020 Autumn Racing Carnival in Adelaide.
“He’s a quality horse,” Dennis said.
“He’s had a bit of a virus recently, but if the carnival goes ahead, there might be a race there for him.
“I think he’s good enough to win a stakes race over a mile.”
