DRF Stakes Trip Notes

[NTamm1215]

These are absolute gold. I haven't read them regularly but this week's are incredible.

Garden City:

In an effort to go as overboard as possible about Winter Memories' effort very little was made of Hungry Island getting a completely different trip than she had in her last four starts (all victories). She was without cover the entire way and asked to make a 5 wide move on the turn. She also broke a length or so slowly, which I'll forgive them for excluding. The writers of these "trip notes" offered the following: HUNGRY ISLAND sat comfortably well off the early pace, went five wide on the far turn, but lacked the same late punch she had when she won last month’s Lake Placid, capitalizing on Winter Memories’s bad trip.

How about Pinch Pie? Sure, she was over her head given the class of the turf races she had previously run in but she was given no opportunity whatsoever to run in the stretch. This is what they wrote: "PINCH PIE showed at least a little initiative moving up to be forwardly placed after the first quarter, but could not kick on." If that's what you deduced from the race Pinch Pie ran then you are not a trip handicapper and writing something called Trip Notes is a task that's over your head.

WOODBINE MILE

Clearly they were getting tired as only four horses are included in these notes. Nothing is made of the finishing positions of the horses who Courageous Cat contested the pace with early. OK, that's understandable if you don't view pace that way. But, how about this gem for Right One? RIGHT ONE was settled patiently in midpack, had to steady a bit while awaiting room in the stretch, knifed through an opening to gain a brief advantage in deep stretch but was outgamed by the top two late. You mean, the horse who saved ground the entire way, had a clear path with a furlong to go, passed the leader and hung? Right One was awful yesterday. Dance and Dance is not discussed in the trip notes. Breaking two lengths slowly and being completely stymied in the stretch doesn't constitute a troubled trip, right?

If you were unsure who may be responsible for these Trip Notes, it was him: