There are still a few weeks left in 2022/23, but Stirling Osland can already celebrate his best-ever year as a trainer, having brought up his 28th winner of the season at Tamworth on Friday after Mer Cheetah (Mikayla Weir, $6.50) won the Country Boosted 1400m Maiden Plate.
The Armidale trainer, who’s now prepared 155 winners since kicking off his career in late 2014, had registered 26 winners in 2017/18 and 2021/22.
Still, this season, he’s set the bar high, with his 28 victories arriving at a career-best strike rate of 16.4%, while his prize money earnings of over $650,000 are undoubtedly his best result.
“It’s been a good season, and we started the season really strong, and for the first three months, we were training at 25%, which set us up for a good year,” Osland said.
“Last year, we were nearly in the same situation and had 26 wins with six weeks to go, but I couldn’t buy a win, but this year, it’s good to get 28, and with a couple of weeks still to go, it would be nice to tick off the 30.”
Osland endured a lean 2019/20 season, registering just ten winners, and he said the impacts of the drought, which was made worse by the subsequent COVID pandemic, meant his team has had to work hard to get back to where they are now.
“The drought hit us hard, and working on those hard tracks, horses were jarring up, and it pulled the guts out of us,” Osland said.
“Obviously, with only 10 or 11 winners, you lose horses, and it takes time to build numbers back up, but we’ve got the confidence back, and we’ve had good support from major clients and other guys with one or two horses, which is good.”
Osland hopes to build his team up a little more leading into the 2023/24 season, and he has a few big targets in mind, with stable star Point Counterpoint already qualified for the $3 million Big Dance on the first Tuesday in November.
“We have 21 in work, but it’s been a bit tricky with some staffing problems the last month to six weeks,” Osland said.
“We had to ease a little bit, but we have got five or six in the paddock, and we’ll be back to 24, 25, and 26 over the next few weeks as we untangle staff problems.
“Looking towards next season, we have a heap coming back through, and we like to bring them in now and during winter, so they should be up and firing by August and September, and that way, we can kick off the year and a big season.
“Plus, we have Point Counterpoint racing on Big Dance Day, and he’s pencilled in for that, which is something to look forward to.”
Mer Cheetah could be one to follow.
Bringing up Osland’s 28th winner of the season was the impressive Mer Cheetah in the Country Boosted 1400m Maiden Plate.
After finishing seventh on debut at Coffs Harbour last month, Mer Cheetah ($6) was having her second start, and the three-year-old thrived in the heavy ten conditions at Tamworth, winning well for jockey Mikayla Weir.
After the win, Osland explained that he was pleased with the Merchant Navy filly, suggesting she had some ‘upside’.
“We were pretty happy with her first-up run,” Osland said.
“She probably didn’t really travel throughout the run that day; she was just a bit soft on the bit, but when Mik hopped off her, I asked her if she wanted to keep with her, and she said, ‘Hell yeah, it was a bloody nice run’.
“She probably over-raced through a section there today but look, she seems to be finding the line nicely, and these heavy tracks are difficult at their second start, so she’s probably got a little bit of upside, and I thought she sort of punched through the line nicely there.”
Osland found praise for an in-form Weir, who has brought up wins consistently of late, landing good victories at Dubbo, Tuncurry, Muswellbrook, and Tamworth.
“She was over-racing, and Mik had to bring her back a little bit more, and a little bit was going on in front of her, but I thought it was a nice ride,” Osland said.
“She had a few options at the turn, going in, out, in, out, and obviously, you want to be outside, but she pulled the right rein and got her in the right spot.”
As far as what the future holds for Mer Cheetah, Osland said he would keep her at seven furlongs as she continues to learn her craft.
“She will probably go further down the track, but she was still doing a little bit wrong today, and we’ll look to fix a few minor problems,” Osland said.
“To tell you the truth, she didn’t come to us with a lot of upside, and she had been in work for 14 weeks, and it was at 10-12 weeks that we had her close to trialling and ready to race, but we couldn’t really get her to fire.
“The owners in Victoria have shown a lot of patience, and she had been up for 15 weeks when we stepped her out at Coffs Harbour, but she looks to be improving week to week, and we’ll wait and see how she continues.”
Osland and his team will continue a busy little period at Grafton on Sunday and Gunnedah on Tuesday, while on Thursday, he has an up-and-coming sprinter Lost Media entered in the $50,000 Belflyer Plate at Grafton.
For all results from Tamworth, click here.
For Grafton’s fields on Sunday, click here.
For Gunnedah’s fields on Tuesday, click here.
For Grafton Cup Day nominations, click here.
