Three wins on the spin and a model score that towers above the opposition. Born Racer heads to the 17:56 at Sheffield as our top-rated dog of the day, and on everything we can see, he looks exceptionally hard to beat.
C Weatherall's black dog, by Ballymac Anton out of Whitings Gift, has been in devastating form over 280m at Sheffield. His last three outings read won, won, won, with times of 16.09, 15.98 and 16.00. That middle figure of 15.98 is properly quick and suggests a dog running right at the top of his game. Before this Sheffield hot streak, he was competing over 270m at Towcester in OR2 and Open company, finishing fourth, third and fifth. Those were tougher races at a different track, so the drop back to Grade IV at Sheffield has allowed him to dominate.
Trapped in the red jacket from trap one, Born Racer gets the rail draw which should help him control things from the off. Our model gives him a score of 77, which puts clear daylight between him and the rest of the field. Epic Command in trap four is next best on 56, followed by Links Jester on 39, Betgoodwin Ben on 37, Holding Hollie on 34 and Tullymurry Sioux way down on 5.
That 21-point gap between Born Racer and his nearest rival tells you everything. When a dog is winning this regularly and posting consistent times around the 16-second mark, you have to take him seriously at this level. The inside draw is a bonus. Sheffield's 280m trip is a dash to the line and early pace from the rail is a significant advantage.
The only real danger is the unexpected. A slow break or first-bend trouble could bring Epic Command into the picture, but on form and figures, Born Racer should have too much for these. Three-year-old dogs in this kind of form tend to keep delivering, and today's race looks like it was made for him.