The most interesting result from yesterday's card came in the 21:46 A1 at Nottingham over 500m, a race that turned the form book on its head. Saleen Stunner, sent off at a big 9.00 and rated only the fifth-best runner in the field by the model, came from trap 4 to win going away, while the model's top pick, Phoenix Cowboy from trap 5, had to settle for second at odds of 3.00 and the second-favourite Wolf Gold took third.
The run comment tells most of the story. Saleen Stunner was crowded at the first bend, the kind of trouble that knocks plenty of dogs out of contention entirely, but recovered to lead on the run-in, the last and most telling stage of any race. That is a dog who did not have the smoothest passage and still found enough in the closing stages to get there. Phoenix Cowboy, by contrast, led from the second to the fourth bend section before being reeled in, a pattern that suggests he did the donkey work in the race without having the finishing gears to hold off a fast-closing rival. Wolf Gold was also crowded at the first bend and never quite recovered the ground.
The most eye-catching detail further down the field was Deelish Denzel, drawn in the rails trap and predicted to finish third, but checked and unable to build any sort of challenge after early trouble, eventually fourth. Aghaburren Don, predicted fourth, did not complete the course.
What does it tell us going forward? Saleen Stunner's price suggests the market had written her off before the race, but a dog capable of absorbing first-bend trouble and still finding a turn of foot to lead on the run-in is one worth watching next time out, ideally in a race with a cleaner passage from the boxes. Phoenix Cowboy's pace figures held up, he simply got outfinished, and there is no shame in that against a dog who overcame early interference. Both are names to keep an eye on when they next appear at Nottingham.