STIRLING Osland unveiled a new "golden" star at Grafton on Tuesday as fellow Armidale trainer Robert Knight also celebrated success.
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While Osland prepared Golden Point to a debut win for the stable Knight was returning to a track where his horse, China Grove, had won on debut for him back in March.
It was also apprentice jockey Georgine McDonnell's birthday as she responded well to sool China Grove to victory in the $24,000 XXXX Gold Class 2 Handicap (1410m).
The five-year-old gelding, a son of Skilled, arrived in Knight's Armidale stable in March this year and promptly won first up for him at Grafton on March 29.
Six starts later and China Grove repeated the dose again to rocket his prizemoney up to more than $40,000.
Earlier, fellow Armidale-based trainer Stirling Osland, won his first race in the Northern Rivers Racing Association's new season when Golden Point claimed the $24,000 Westlawn Finance Maiden Handicap (1106m).
A son of Bull Point the four-year-old entire was on debut for Osland and relished the assignment fighting off Miss Miraculous to notch his first win at his fourth start.
He hadn't run since beaten nearly four and half lengths back in mid-June but the 18 weeks off didn't do him any harm.
Earlier, Ballina trainer Stephen Lee had also tasted a win with five-year-old gelding Kawuneeche when the son of Savabeel ran down Shukkas to win the $24,000 tab.com.au Maiden Handicap (1710m).
Shukkas had led by around five lengths around the back and a couple turning for home.
Only Kawuneeche was able to run down the grey mare trained on the track by Chris Manson.
It was Kawuneeche's 10th start and his first win since joining Lee's stable in November last year.
He had debuted for his Ballina stable with a third at Grafton but had failed to improve on that in the 11 starts until today.
The win was also Lee's sixth of the new NRRA season and catapulted him into outright second on the trainer's premiership behind only Matt Dunn (11) after two races on today's seven-race Grafton program.
Another Ballina trainer, Julie Pratten, saluted in the third race when Rahaan ran away with the $24,000 Fidelity Capital Feed "N" Go Benchmark Handicap (2220m).
Rahaan has now won four of her 28 starts for Pratten and her second at Grafton after Yvette Lewis rated the daughter of Mulaazem perfectly stalking Nature Boy into the straight before unleashing a winning surge.
Our Castaway had not started for some 111 weeks when the Murwillumbah gelding when jumped in today's $24,000 Christmas Race Day 28/11 Maiden Plate (1410m) at Grafton.
A few minutes later and talented apprentice Jasper Franklin was bringing the five-year-old son of I Am Invincible back to the winners stall.
Sky Thoroughbred Central commentator Gary Kliese reckoned it "a great training performance".
"He's been off the scene two years and only had a couple of trials," the former jockey said of the gelding in his praise for trainer Edward O'Rourke.
The Murwillumbah trainer was chuffed with the result and felt the Heavy 8 conditions a help despite his lengthy spell.
"I think he appreciated the Heavy 8," Edward O'Rourke said of a horse he also reckons "is a bit of a thinker".
"He deserved that," he said of the break through win.
Our Castaway came to him this year after two lengthy spells at the Waterhouse-Bott stable in Sydney and after running third at Wyong back on September 1, 2019.
That was his last run and he had had six trials since, three of them for O'Rourke since arriving at his Murwillumbah base.