Fourteen times Blake Shinn rode past that spot.
The spot that left Shinn with a fractured C1 and C3 vertebrae. The spot he feared meant he would never walk again.
Shinn took part in 14 trials on a cloudy yet warm morning at Royal Randwick on Thursday.
Comeback trail: Blake Shinn will return to racing for the first time in five months at Randwick on Saturday.Credit:AAP
This time he was able to hop in his car and drive home.
It was a different story last August when a horse he was riding, Pacific Legend, took a swift turn to the right, slammed into the running rail and speared Shinn into the turf.
He was only able to bring himself to watch the replay for the first time not long ago.
"It was about the 700-metre mark, you can see it from here,'' Shinn told the Herald as he sat in a plastic chair ahead of his raceday comeback on Saturday.
"I could recall everything up until hitting the ground. I was knocked unconscious.
"I was out two or three minutes and then there were ambulance attendants above me, telling me not to move.
Recovery: Blake Shinn posted this image to Instagram while he was hospitalised.Credit:Instagram
"I could sense something was dramatically wrong with my neck. I never lost feeling in my fingers or toes.
"But when I got to the hospital the surgeon told me to buy a Lotto ticket because I was just centimetres away from doing damage to my spinal cord. Ninety-eight per cent of people who suffered my injury are left quadriplegics.''
Shinn knows he was lucky. Fellow jockey Tye Angland wasn't. Angland does not look like he will walk again after his own fall in Hong Kong in November.
"My heart goes out to Tye Angland and his family. I feel terribly sad for him,'' Shinn says. "I could easily be in his position.''
Shinn said the first few days in hospital were the worst.
I was born to ride. It's a passion, it's always been a passion and I don't want to do anything else.
"I wasn't allowed to move, the catheter was painful, and I had to sleep on my back for the first six weeks. I couldn't roll. Mentally it was challenging. There was even one point in hospital I wasn't sure how I was going to get through it.''
Shinn is no stranger to race falls. Jockeys know it is part of the occupation. He broke his leg at Flemington on Melbourne Cup day in 2010 and had to forgo the ride on Bart Cummings' Precedence.
The thought of walking away from riding briefly entered his mind.
"We're in a very dangerous profession, every time we ride we risk our lives,'' says Shinn, as he glances out to that spot again.
"We're in the lap of the gods every time.
"You start to wonder, 'is it worth it?'.
"Then I said to myself riding is innate. I was born to ride. It's a passion, it's always been a passion and I don't want to do anything else. I love animals. I love horses. That's why I can't wait to get back to riding on Saturday.''
Shinn escaped to the US for a mental break. He had the chance to watch Enable win the Breeders' Cup Turf.
Back to Randwick: Blake Shinn on Who Shot Thebarman during The Championships last year.Credit:AAP
So many people have played a role in his comeback. Too many mentors to name.
One of them, Peter Johnson, an exercise physiologist and former high school principal, even accompanied the 31-year-old at the trials.
Johnson, now 70, coached league stars Jason Taylor, Brad Fittler and Mark Geyer during their high school days.
"Blake is a very gifted young man, and it's a miracle he's walking,'' Johnson said.
"I've never seen an athlete drive himself like this man does. He's so focused. I've also worked with his mind and getting him to try and switch off.''
Shinn can often be guilty of being too intense. At times grumpy. He was unimpressed we arrived half an hour late for a chat, then had the nerve to tell him to wait while we paid for a latte.
But he has a heart of gold. And a Winx-like will to win.
He whipped his body into shape by jogging a staggering 20km every day. Every single day. He'd start from his home in Kensington and often take in the glorious sights of Coogee and Bronte.
He spent endless hours on his mechanical horse in his lounge room, swimming laps, lifting weights, then rounding out his extended enforced pre-season with a week-long training camp in Ko Samui.
While it will be a special day for Shinn at Sydney's headquarters, it has been an awful week for the family.
After 80 years Shinn's family were forced to shut down their stables in Victoria. A long-running cobalt case they lost virtually sent them broke.
Shinn's mother, Carol, is a chance to make the trip north to Randwick to watch her boy back in action.
"I feel very sad for my family and all the people who have been involved in the cobalt saga,'' Shinn said.
"They are honest, hard-working people who have been rubbed out for something that still hasn't been properly researched.
"My family have so much integrity, and knowing what their values are, that's what saddens me the most. To see them suffer breaks me.
"They fought it for four years and it sent them broke fighting for their innocence. I feel helpless to them.''
Shinn partnered Happy Clapper at the trials on Thursday, and a smile came to his face when thinking about the eight-year-old which has given Winx a few heart palpitations.
Happy Clapper and Winx are expected to rumble again in the Apollo Stakes next month.
Of the rides awaiting Shinn at Saturday, he also had a soft spot for perennial place-getter Tom Melbourne.
"He's got a bit of a cult following, I've teamed up with him in the past – for a few seconds – but it would be great if we can both return a winner,'' Shinn said.
"I've been well supported by the trainers. It's nice to be back here at Royal Randwick. It's a miracle we're back here.''
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