Page 148 - 12 April 2013

Paycheck Queen oF the Quarter From Speedhorse, formerly Quarter Racing World, august, 1974 Issue
by Nelson C. Nye
Time: 1966
Setting: the Quarter horse tracks In the Gates: Go Josie Go
Few more truly rock-ribbed competi-
tors ever contended in the battle of the straightaways than Mr. A.O. Phillips’ great
sprinter, Go Josie Go.
A sorrel foal of ‘62, born to the distinguished
Josie’s Bar through the courtship of the three- times champ Go Man Go, this granddaughter of Top Deck and Three Bars had a lot to live up to
- and did so in a degree of excellence seldom dem- onstrated to better advantage. She was bred in the purple and, under jockey James Dreyer, secured an envious niche in the annals of track history.
Bred by Frank Vessels and trained by Chuck Taliaferro, she was started in 1964 but did not, in that initial season, set any grass afire, earn- ing 5 racing points from 2 firsts, 2 seconds and a third from 6 official outings. For this tour of the short tracks she received a grade of AA and cash money in the amount of $1,717. But two years later, when she was crowned Champion Quarter Running Mare and Champion Quarter Running Aged Mare, Jim Goodhue noted in the Annual Review: “Go Josie Go collects championships and trophies the way most horses collect cockleburrs.”
She was just a little slow getting started. In her second year on the straightaways she
Go Josie Go (#5) and jockey James Dreyer win the Chicado V Stakes at Los Alamitos in 1966 over Moore Go, in second, and Duplicte Copy, in third
finished third on the list of Money-Earning Horses (1965), banking $103,664.22. That
was the year AQHA decided not to bestow
any championship kudos, despite promotional advantages in an industry deserving a great deal more than it’s been heir to. In this second season of running, the A.O. Phillips color-bearer took
12 wins, 5 seconds and a third from 19 starts against the most rugged competition in training. She took the Inaugural Stakes, the Pacific Coast Quarter Horse Racing Association Derby, The Josie’s Bar (named in honor of her mammy - a daughter of Josephine R.), and the Autumn Championship among other hard-fought
Go Josie Go’s connections include owner A. O. Phillips, trainer Chuck Taliaferro and jockey James Dreyer in the win circle after The Chicado V Stakes
146 SPEEDHORSE, April 12, 2013
classic moments
Bill Scherlis Photo Lab Bill Scherlis Photo Lab