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Last start Highway winner Point Counterpoint ($2.70 favourite on TAB) won’t have a home track advantage as anticipated and instead will have to win the Armidale Cup away from home on Sunday.
Point Counterpoint is prepared at Armidale by Stirling Osland, but with the meeting transferred to Tamworth due to the heavy state of the track, it has changed the picture of the feature race.
Tamworth galloper Beckford's chances are even further enhanced now with his record of two wins from three starts at his home circuit giving him some advantage.
Point Counterpoint has never raced in better form and demonstrated that when he excelled at his latest start at Kembla Grange taking out the $100,000 Highway on November 23.
It was the four-year-old's fourth victory from 17 starts for Osland and the Horse Ventures syndicate which races the gelding.
Point Counterpoint has raced once at Tamworth for a third in April and since then he has won two of his four starts.
Osland is expecting another bold showing from the favourite who will be ridden by Brooke Stower from gate 13.
"It's a tough race and he is drawn wide, but his is racing in strong form," Osland said.
The Armidale Cup carries prizemoney of $60,000 with $275,000 to be distributed over eight races at the Racing NSW Country Showcase meeting. The cup was originally scheduled for March but was washed out and rescheduled to December.
The transfer from Armidale to Tamworth was another detour for the meeting, but no matter the result the winning connections will still be celebrating an Armidale Cup victory albeit it is at a different course.
Beckford's trainer Troy O'Neile prepares his team at Tamworth and the galloper will have a strong following as the main local hope. Beckford ($4) will push past $100,000 in prize money with a top-four finish. The gelding has recorded six wins from his 19 starts and will start from gate 12 – directly inside of Point Counterpoint.
The topweight Notabadidea ($10) won the Coonabarabran Cup this campaign and was a last-start third in the Mudgee Cup. The reliable gelding will carry 61kg from gate six for jockey Aaron Bullock.
The other feature race on Sunday is the $35,000 Armidale Newmarket (1000m) where Ice In Vancouver is the $3 favourite ahead of Hidden Hail at $3.50 with the course rated a Soft 5.
