Tonight's standout race is the 20:01 OR-grade sprint over 255 metres at Nottingham, and the form book doesn't leave much room for debate. Good Acclaim, drawn in trap 5 and trained by S G Tighe, arrives as one of those rare selections where every column in the data points the same direction.
Her average performance rating of 97 is the highest in the field by more than twenty points. Her best time of 14.72 seconds is a quarter of a second faster than the next quickest runner here — at 255 metres, that translates to around three and a half lengths before the race has even started. The speed rating of 70 leads the field, track suitability of 85 and class suitability of 85 confirm she operates at OR level without any strain, and a trap suitability of 71 from the wide draw shows the berth causes her no problems.
Her recent form reads as well as the numbers suggest. She won her last start over this very track and grade on June 1st, clocking 17.54 for 305 metres from the front — quick away, all the way. Before that came three consecutive wins at Dunstall Park. This is not a dog coming here on the back of a single good run. She is in the form of her life.
The most credible rival is Millbank Burner in trap 4, who owns the best first-bend rating in the field at 88 and posted an 85 performance last time out. In any other sprint, he would be the one to be on. Tonight, the gap between him and Good Acclaim across pace, class and time is too wide to bridge. Shelt Hill Rosie in trap 2 has genuine Nottingham form — two recent placed efforts at OR — but a first-bend rating of just 17 is a real concern over such a short trip where the turn arrives inside the first three seconds.
At 255 metres, the race is over in under sixteen seconds. The leader at the turn usually controls the outcome, and Good Acclaim has the pace to be there. This is as close to a formbook banker as you will find on tonight's card.