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By Ray Hickson

Trainer Stirling Osland isn’t a stickler for weights and measures so remains confident Point Counterpoint can lug a big weight and win Sunday’s $60,000 Tooheys Armidale Cup (1900m) while warning the lighter weighted stablemate Kingstar Bullet shouldn’t be underestimated.

Trainer Stirling Osland (Pic: Bradley Photos)

On one hand, Point Counterpoint has a 5kg disadvantage (aside from carrying 62.5kg) against Beckford for their meeting in the $150,000 Country Classic at Rosehill two weeks ago where they finished alongside each other in fourth and third respectively.

And he is 4kg worse off for running second to Beckford in last year’s Armidale Cup, run at Tamworth, having since won the Moree Cup and a midweeker at Canterbury.

But, on the other, Osland said the home track is a plus for his five-year-old as is a much smoother build up into his hometown Cup, which is a Big Dance eligible race.

Point Counterpoint, $3.20 favourite with TAB on Saturday, ran fourth in the $500,000 Little Dance off an interrupted preparation and Osland said that was a factor in his Country Classic finishing position.

“He missed a run between Canterbury and the Little Dance, he’d had one run into his legs in pretty much eight weeks and we got found a little bit short,’’ he said.

“We were looking at the Big Dance Wild Card race and he missed that with a minor problem and I think it came back to bite us at 2000m.

“We’re pretty confident with the two week back up he will better for it.”

While Point Counterpoint is racing on his home track Beckford, who ran 10th in the Little Dance, is unbeaten in two starts at Armidale and Osland said how the race is run will be vital.

“A horse like Beckford looks like he takes a while to wind up, you look back at his last couple he gets a long way back and can punch the line hard but you get a long run home at Rosehill and Randwick,’’ he said.

“She’s not a long way home at Armidale that’s for sure. It might just be whoever gets a bit lucky but it’s not a cut and dried two horse race either.”

Osland is referring to stablemate Kingstar Bullet who has been set for the Armidale Cup all preparation and arrives there having run a close second over 1600m at Tamworth on November 29.

She’s receiving 7.5kg from the top weight and has some fresh legs about her.

“We wanted to be here fourth up, and I don’t think we could have got her here in better shape,’’ he said.

“She has a good record past a mile and she loves her home track. We have two handy chances and both of them like to get around Armidale pretty well too.

“Horses like Beckford and Point Counterpoint had those bigger races as target races and they’ve definitely got the form on a fair few of the others.

“But a horse like her has been targeted and it’s probably her and Group Think (trained by Sue Grills) that are the best weighted.”

Point Counterpoint runs fourth at Rosehill on November 26

Meanwhile, Osland is very interested to see what new recruit Cyber Attack can produce on debut for the stable in the Laing & Simmons Armidale Plate (1100m).

Formerly with John O’Shea, the four-year-old ran fourth behind Stick To Your Guns at Warwick Farm back in January as an $8.50 chance.

“He went down in a photo for third at a Wednesday meeting at Warwick Farm so obviously comes back in grade. He has a bit of a sticky gate but he looks like a nice horse,’’ Osland said.

“He did some work with John Ramsey before he came to us, we have a bit of an opinion of him and he probably only has to run up to his first ever start to be good enough to win a country maiden.”

All the fields, form and replays for Sunday's Armidale Cup meeting