![Point Counterpoint (seen here winning the Moree Cup in September) ran fourth in the Little Dance in Royal Randwick on Tuesday. Picture by Peter Hardin. Point Counterpoint (seen here winning the Moree Cup in September) ran fourth in the Little Dance in Royal Randwick on Tuesday. Picture by Peter Hardin.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/ijfQKXbsEKgSKGW5xB5NiF/b2f53a4a-c32f-45e0-9d19-6ad07e9c0272.jpg/r155_547_3527_2579_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
When Point Counterpoint first arrived at Stirling Osland's stables, he did not appear destined for a particularly bright future.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Osland first began training the five-year-old gelding in 2020, and his form up to that point had been "average at best", with six races in Victoria and no placings to speak of.
So how exactly did he go from an inauspicious start to running fourth in yesterday's Little Dance?
Also read:
"He's come through and he's probably a nicer horse now as a five-year-old than he was as a three-year-old," Osland said.
"He's a lot stronger, bigger, and he's got a lot more upside now, that's for sure."
In a hotly-contested race where the top four place-getters were decided within a length, Osland was "happy" with Point Counterpoint's run.
But there was also a note of melancholy in the trainer's tone, as he had believed prior to the race that the horse was capable of winning.
And, he said, Point Counterpoint and jockey Reece Jones were "just a little bit unlucky".
"In the running, they just got caught on the back of Two Big Fari for probably four or five strides in straightening there," Osland said.
"It cost us a whisker, which would probably have been enough to get us third. But unfortunately that's racing."
The Armidale-based galloper was one of two horses from the local region taking part in the race, along with Troy O'Neile's Beckford.
Beckford, however, had the odds stacked against him from the start and finished in tenth place.
"He drew a wide gate, and he had to go back and try to get in," O'Neile said.
"I think [jockey Serg Lisnyy] did a great job, within 100 metres he'd gotten from barrier 17 to the fence, so he did a fantastic job to give him the soft run."
Both trainers confirmed that their respective horses will next be targeting the Country Cups scheduled to take place over the coming months.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark northerndailyleader.com.au
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on Google News