There are in-form trainers, and then there is S G Tighe right now. Over the last three months, Tighe has sent out 57 runners and landed 23 winners. That is a strike rate of 40.4%, which is elite by any measure in open racing. Add in 12 placed runners and the combined win-and-place rate climbs to 61.5%. More than six out of every ten dogs Tighe sends to the track are finishing in the first three.
Those numbers do not happen by accident. A strike rate above 30% over a meaningful sample suggests a trainer who is placing dogs precisely where they need to be, in the right grade, at the right distance, at the right track. Tighe appears to be doing all three with remarkable consistency. The sample of 57 runners is large enough to rule out a lucky run; this is sustained, deliberate form.
Today, Tighe has one representative on the card: Highmeadow Vodka, running at Star Pelaw in the 14:26 A5 over 435 metres from trap 2. Given the trainer's current numbers, any runner from this kennel demands a second look, regardless of the form figures. Trap 2 at Star Pelaw wins at 16.1% across recent data, which is close to the average, so there is no particular draw bias to worry about either way.
Whether this purple patch continues or regresses to the mean is the only real question. For now, Tighe is operating at a level where backing every runner blind would have returned a healthy profit. That rarely lasts forever, but it would be unwise to oppose this kennel while the iron is hot.