After his three-year-old filly Red Impulse blitzed the field in the $20 000 Vale John Cossor Handicap at Wodonga on Saturday, he found himself lost as to the next move.
Osborne said while you could not get too excited by taking out a rating 58, Red Impulse now had two wins and two placings from seven starts.
So he knows he has got to come up with something – and soon.
“The thing is the win on Saturday was very impressive. I mean, I expected her to do well but in the end she did really well,” Osborne said.
“Her style of racing is not even suited to a track like Wodonga. Smaller tracks make it harder for horses with a big finish.“The funny thing is she doesn’t give you the feeling she’s a really good horse. She gets up to tricks such as changing legs.
“But she is a treat to train and one of the quietest horses I have had.
“And while you mightn’t expect that she’s very good, she keeps putting in solid runs like Saturday and you can’t keep ignoring that.”
So Osborne intends to spend a few days planning the next stage in the rise and rise of Red Impulse.
And he would like to know he can include apprentice Madison Lloyd in those plans – her win on Red Impulse made it a double for her at the weekend.
But it was her knowledge of what the horse could do that Osborne reckons made the difference, because he wanted her box seated about two pairs back, not at the rear of the field where she finished once the field settled.
“A rider who didn’t know her might have panicked and tried to go too fast too early,” Osborne said.
“It is my only real disappointment with the horse, that she lacks a bit of early speed, but Madi knew what she could do and rode for luck.
“And when she got clear, Red Impulse absolutely took off.”
There might be a step up to 1200 m or 1300 m at her next start, but there might also be a trip to town, where Osborne can get a real read on her ability now and her future potential.
“There is a race at Sandown in a fortnight, but also a 1200 m for three-year-olds at Swan Hill,” he said.
“I’m trying not to get carried away but maybe we will try a real step up in class in a city midweek and maybe one other start and then put her away for the Benalla Cup.
“If the win had been a 64 I would really be excited, but she has earned a shot and the only way to find out is to have a go.”
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