Great Acclaim

The most intriguing thread in this story is the relationship with Windsor. Two wins from just four races there is a remarkable record — that's winning half the time at a single track, which in racing terms borders on uncanny. Horses often have courses that suit them for reasons nobody can fully explain — the shape of the bends, the camber, the way the ground drains — and Windsor clearly agrees with Great Acclaim in some fundamental way. It also runs particularly well on normal ground conditions, winning 3 of 7 races on a standard surface, a 43% win rate that any trainer would take.

The partnership with jockey Charles Bishop tells its own story. In 18 races together, they have won 5 times — that's just over 1 in every 3 and a half races, a noticeably better rate than the horse's overall average. When Bishop is in the saddle, something clicks.

Trainer Eve Johnson Houghton, whose yard in Blewbury, Oxfordshire has sent out 42 winners this season alone, has been candid about why the wins have dried up. Great Acclaim started last year racing off a mark of 68, won four times, and the handicapper responded by pushing that rating up to 92 by the start of this season — a jump that puts it in much stiffer company every time it lines up. That explains why 8 races at Class 2 level have produced just 1 win. It's not that the horse has stopped trying; it's that success brought harder opponents as a reward. Johnson Houghton is confident the wins will come again. Given that the last one arrived as recently as August 2025 and the horse raced just yesterday, this is very much a live story.