Trainer in Profile: David Pipe

Jockeys & Trainers / Wayne Bailey / 16 October 2008 / Leave a Comment

Wayne Bailey on when to consider the horses from the yard that gave us the Grand National winner, Comply Or Die.

Martin Pipe, David's father, really was something special.

His science based training methods which were groundbreaking at the time, were met with initial scepticism - but many of those methods are now used every day all over these islands. He had over 4000 winners and won the trainers' championship no less than fifteen times.

David has a lot to live up to - but he did learn from one of the best after all, and success wasn't long coming. It was nice to see the yard keep faith in Timmy Murphy, and it paid off when Comply Or Die gave David the biggest win of his career to date in the Grand National.

Despite some ill-health, there's no doubt that Martin is still a huge figure at Pond house stables and it's only the second time that a father and son have both won the National. No doubt further successful years lie ahead, and there are a number of races where his horses are particularly noteworthy:

Courses

I'm a big believer that trainers learn to master certain courses, and Pipe's playgrounds are definitely Sedgefield and Leicester; where he has a strike-rate of 46% and 44% respectively. Other courses he has enjoyed success at are Perth, Hereford and Ascot. Had you backed each of his horses at those five tracks, you would have had 38 winners from 136 bets (28%) and shown a profit of £918 to £10 stakes.

Races

Novice chases have become a Pipe speciality, and he shows a win rate of 31%. However, prices are usually restrictive so it's difficult to make money in those markets. He also performs well in bumpers with a win rate of one in five and shows a very small profit if blindly backed.

Last time out

If one of Pipes horses performed well last time out, we can be confident of a reasonable follow up. Indeed, had you backed David Pipe trained horses that came first, second or third last time out, you would have had 153 winners from 654 bets and just about broke even to level stakes. If you are backing in the place market, almost half of such horses will make the frame again.

Debut Horses

Pipe prepares his horses well before they reach the course, and his debut horses are definitely noteworthy with a 27% strike rate. Had you placed a tenner on each, you'd be £194 better off today.

Jockeys

Pipe's most successful jockeys are Tony McCoy (34%) and Timmy Murphy (20%). However, I'd suggest it may be profitable to keep an eye on the up-and-coming Danny Cook. He shows a win rate of one in five, and a small profit if blindly backed. I think we'll be hearing a lot more about Danny in the future.

Month

Pipe usually eases into the season, but come December, he's firing on all cylinders, having performed extremely well in 2006 and 2007 and I'm expecting more of the same this year. Had you backed all Pipe horses in the month of December, you would have had 40 winners from 182 bets (22%) and shown a profit of £785 to £10 stakes

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