There are trainers who string together a good week and there are trainers who sustain a run long enough to call it form. Over the past three months, S G Tighe sits firmly in the second category. From 55 runners, Tighe has posted 25 winners — a win rate of 45.5% that is exceptional by any standard in professional greyhound racing. Add in 11 placed runners and the combined win-and-place rate climbs to 65.5%, meaning nearly two in every three of his runners either win or fill a frame position. That kind of consistency does not happen by accident.
What makes the numbers more impressive is the volume. With 55 runners over 90 days, this is not a micro-stable cherry-picking easy opportunities. Tighe is placing dogs regularly and they are converting at a rate that most trainers would not achieve in their best month, let alone across a full quarter.
Today he has five runners spread across two venues. At Star Pelaw, Wheatsheaf Star goes in Trap 2 at 14:44 in the A1 over 435 metres — top-grade competition and a serious test of ability. In the next race at 15:03, he saddles two runners in the A2: Cornerstone from Trap 2 and Birtley Hoopstar from Trap 1, which means he holds the two rail draws in what could be an interesting stable one-two situation. Highmeadow Vodka then follows in the A5 at 16:18, also from Trap 1. His fifth runner, Brickhill Tamika, makes the trip to Sunderland for an open-grade sprint over 261 metres from Trap 1 at 19:43.
Four of his five runners today draw from Trap 1 or 2 — whether that is coincidence or the product of a kennel that runs well from the rail, it is worth noting when assessing each race. On current form, any of his runners carrying this trainer’s name deserves close attention.