Where Are They Now: Jo’s Dream

Jo’s Dream never carried the polish, pedigree power, or professional gloss normally associated with winning a Queen of Hearts, yet for a brief moment at Alexandra Park she stood equal with one of the most dominant mares of her generation. In 2017 she dived up the passing lane to dead heat with Partyon, completing a family chapter her dam had attempted twice without success, and giving her first-time breeders a Group One moment they still scarcely believe happened.

Jo’s Dream (2011 B m Gotta Go Cullect – Marylyne Bromac) was born into a maternal line that had been hardy rather than headline-worthy. Her dam Marylyne Bromac, a daughter of Washington VC, compiled 110 starts for seven wins, eight seconds and nine thirds, earning $61,945 with a best of 1:58. She was a staple of northern mares’ racing in the mid-2000s and twice contested the Queen of Hearts, finishing sixth in 2006 behind Waitfornoone and eighth in 2007 behind One Dream. That alone placed her well above the ordinary, but she never cracked the placing she probably deserved across those campaigns.

Jo Goodin came into the picture in circumstances that still make her laugh. “It started as a joke at the pub,” she says. Someone suggested joining a syndicate with a horse, and she and husband Graham said yes largely because they’d raced gallopers previously. Through that involvement she struck up a rapport with the then-owner of Marylyne Bromac, who was living in Mauritius and leasing the mare out. As the relationship grew, so did the idea that the mare might someday come their way. When she did come up for sale, Jo bought her as a birthday present for Graham. “He said he wanted her to go to a good home, and I wasn’t going to give her up, so I bought her,” she says.

They had never bred a Standardbred before but were talked into sending the mare to Gotta Go Cullect, the well-bred but commercially modest son of Christian Cullen. The result was a neat, willing filly who would become the stable star of farrier-turned-trainer Amanda Kiddie. Jo’s Dream had her early education with Tony Grayling, starting once at two, before his move to Woodlands saw the filly transferred to Kiddie.

Amanda remembers her clearly. “She was just generally good to do everything with,” she says. “We thought she’d win one or two, but never thought early on that she’d end up as good as she did.” Kiddie had worked for Dirk Ball and then Tony Herlihy before taking out her own licence when Grayling encouraged her to give it a go. It was a bold step, and in many ways Jo’s Dream made the decision look smarter than even she expected.

The mare progressed quickly through the grades. She won several early, including a patch of three victories from six starts, enough for both Kiddie and the Goodins to realise she belonged in better races. There was a first foray into elite company when she qualified for the 4YO Diamond at the Harness Jewels, running seventh. Natalie Rasmussen drove her that day and later told connections she simply never saw fresh air. It was confirmation that the mare was capable of more than simply filling fields.

Jo, watching from Masterton, couldn’t bear to view the race live. “I’m one of these owners that worry about the horse,” she says. “I’d turn around until she’d finished and then watch the replay, because things can happen with racehorses.” A bad experience with another horse, injured when clipped, left a lasting impression. Safety first, results second.

In 2016 Jo’s Dream took her first crack at the Queen of Hearts and ran a highly respectable fifth behind Dream About Me. A year older and physically stronger, she returned in December 2017 without a heap of expectation but with enough genuine form to warrant her place. Kiddie had intentionally kept her fresh after a six-week gap, only deciding she was ready after working her on the Monday before the race. “I wasn’t happy with her earlier, but that day I thought right, ready to go to the races,” she says.

From barrier three Andre Poutama settled her three back on the pegs, stalking the favourite Partyon every step of the way. It looked a one-horse race 200 metres out, but Jo’s Dream was not done. Poutama drove her through the passing lane to draw level with the All Stars mare, and the pair hit the line locked together. The judge took several minutes to find an answer that never came: a dead heat between the blueblood and the battler.

Jo remembers the moment vividly. “We just didn’t believe it had happened,” she says. “We thought, oh, it happens to everybody else except for us.” When the result was confirmed, the celebrations at Alexandra Park and in Masterton were equally loud. “Pretty loud,” she admits, laughing. For Kiddie the shock was real too. “I thought she’d run second,” she says. “She probably was a little bit short that night… it probably took a while to sink in.”

The win was no fluke. Jo’s Dream later finished third to Star Galleria in the G3 Waikato Flying Mile and remained a competitive feature-grade mare until retirement. Her final record of 56 starts for 11 wins, nine seconds and seven thirds, banking $159,694 with a best of 1:55, reflected both durability and class.

Her broodmare career has been mixed, as is often the case. Her first foal in 2019, a colt named Dreams Of Eric by Vincent and named for Jo’s late father, died unexpectedly as a youngster. “It was pretty tough because he was named after my dad,” she says. A second mating to Vincent produced the 2021 filly Jo’s Star, who has qualified and is back in work with Kiddie. The marewoman is cautiously optimistic. “She’s improving a lot… she’s just getting better with age,” she says, though a recent foot abscess has delayed her return to the trials.

The 2023 Vincent filly Jo’s Angel appears to have inherited more of her dam’s sharpness. “She’s quite a sassy little thing,” Kiddie says. “She just goes out there like she’s been out there a million times.” She will return to work after the yearling sales.

Jo’s Dream herself is not in foal this season and is instead spending time in Kiddie’s paddock looking, by all accounts, a picture of health. The Goodins prefer to breed their mares every second year. “They don’t like backing them up each year,” Kiddie says. Showing classes may be on the agenda simply to keep her entertained.

Behind her stands Marylyne Bromac, whose broodmare career has been far more productive than her race record alone might have hinted. Along with Jo’s Dream, she has left Cheeky Les (2013 c by Real Desire), Touched By An Angel (2015 f by Auckland Reactor), Mork From Auck (2017 c by Auckland Reactor), Biddy’s Chance (2019 f by Vincent), Dreams Of Eric (2021 c by Vincent, 4 wins to date, 1:56.8) and Marylynes Boy (2023 c by Vincent). Kiddie handled most of them. Touched By An Angel qualified but was injured in the paddock, something Amanda found disappointing because she showed real early ability. “I believe she could have won races,” she says. Mork From Auck never developed the desire to race, and Biddy’s Chance was sold south. That is breeding: flashes of promise, frustrations, and the occasional star that makes it all worth it.

As the mare family continues to unfold, the legacy of Jo’s Dream already feels secure. She did what her dam could not quite do and won the very race that defined the pinnacle of Marylyne Bromac’s racing career. She launched a trainer. She gave a couple from Masterton more thrills than they ever expected. And she reminded the industry that sometimes the best stories come from the least likely places.

The little mare who dead heated a champion now spends her days grazing and occasionally keeping Kiddie busy with the same quirks she showed as a racehorse. There is more to come from her daughters, and likely more chapters to write about this family. For now, her Group One moment remains one of the most memorable upsets in the history of the Queen of Hearts and a reminder that the sport’s greatest joy is not who you are supposed to be, but what you dare to do.