Playing To Win

TRIP HANDICAPPING CONTINUED

There are many traps that can easily lead the trip handicapper astray. Before discussing them we should have a clear understanding of what constitutes a good trip. Just like a car is most efficient when on “cruise control” a horse runs best when he is able to relax and run free and easy. A bit of slack in the reins is a good indication that he is running on his own.

It’s best if he encounters minimal traffic but that isn’t possible very often. So long as he continues to relax and isn’t forced to change gears, a horse can have a good trip despite traffic. A horse’s position during a race is important. Horses are creatures of habit and most seasoned horses have adopted a preferred racing style. Asked to change they may become uncomfortable and needlessly squander energy that would be better used down the stretch.

The shortest way home is along the rail but that isn’t always the best path. If we are lucky a horse will be able to gain a clear early lead in one of the first few races. He can race anywhere he likes so notice where his jockey takes him. If he moves outside a bit it is a pretty good tipoff that inside might not be the place to be that day. Before deciding that a horse who took the turns wide had a poor trip consider whether his jockey chose that path or if traffic caused him to either race outside or lose position. The former might be an indication that horse can’t handle the turns inside and is likely to be wide again his next time out, while the latter suggests that the horse might benefit from a better trip when he races again.

It’s best, of course, if a horse relaxes in the starting gate and breaks well. A poor start, however, doesn’t always impact a horse’s trip as much as many believe. Much depends upon his normal racing style and what he does after breaking poorly. If he is the type who needs the lead to run his best a bad start is a virtual death blow. Even if he rushes up to gain the lead he has wasted energy that would be better used later when he will be asked to fend off challengers. In fact any horse who rushes up to gain position after breaking poorly has comprised his chances. The stalker, for example, may have used the energy he will need to overtake the leader late.

If a horse doesn’t rush up after breaking badly but accepts his fate instead, his poor start is apt to hurt his chances much less than most realize. He may have spotted the others four or five lengths but much of that distance can be made up during the rest of the trip. Alone in the rear his jockey can put him on ‘cruise control’ so that he will have plenty of energy left when it comes time to make his move. So long as he isn’t force to go wide on the turn to overtake horses, the damage caused by his bad start may be minimal.

Another area that is widely misunderstood involves horses who swing wide into the stretch. Just because they lost some ground doesn’t necessarily mean that their trip was adversely effected. ‘Spinning’ out of the turn creates a certain amount of centrifugal force so swinging wide takes less out of a horse than ‘cutting’ the corner. That is particularly true with larger less nimble horses, and on the turf course where the turns are sharper. After swinging wide a horse generally has a clear path to the wire so his jockey can put the “pedal to the metal” in an all out drive to win. That is much better than trying to weave through traffic or spitting horses to make racing room.

There are many other factors that enter into good trip handicapping. Young lightly raced horses, for example, generally don’t like to be pinned inside between the rail and another horse, so those who find themselves in that position are usually having a poor trip even when it appears as if they are having a good one. Tactical considerations can also adversely impact a horse’s trip but is a whole new topic.

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• -Life Cycle

305-Trip Handicapping

• Intro
• Charts and PPs
• Homemade Trip Notes
• Trip Handicapping Continued