Boat Trip sails to victory in memorable final Hollywood Turf Express

Official Photo Finish

Boat Trip may have captured the final running of the $99,998

Hollywood Turf Express at Hollywood Park, but the real story was the triple
dead-heat for second between No Silent, Chips All In and Unbridled’s Note.

It was only the third triple dead-heat in Hollywood Park’s 75-year history.
The other two were for first when Challenger Tom, Joe’s Pleasure and Leaful finished on even terms in a $5,000
claiming race July 3, 1957 and then more than 40 years later the photo-finish camera couldn’t separate Chans
Pearl, Cool Miss Ann and Tina Celesta in an $8,000 claimer for fillies and mares
on
December 7, 1997.

No Silent, Chips All In and Unbridled’s Note hooked up at the beginning of the six-furlong
Hollywood Turf Express and
battled it out for the remainder of the race. Jockey Joe Talamo allowed Boat
Trip to settle in the rear of the field along with Jonny’s Choice, who had
broken on top before being wrangled back by Edwin Maldonado. Meanwhile up front
Chips All In set the opening splits in :22 3/5 and :44 3/5 while sandwiched between
No Silent on the rail and even-money favorite Unbridled’s Note to his outside.

The trio ran in tandem rounding the turn and continued their battle royale
into the lane. Meanwhile, Talamo swung Boat Trip off the inside and sent the
Harlan’s Holiday four-year-old chasing after the tenacious triumvirate. Boat
Trip managed to run his rivals down, hitting the wire a half-length in front of
what turned out to be an inseparable force of No Silent, Chips All In and
Unbridled’s Note in second.

Boat Trip (far outside) just got the best of (left to right) Unbridled’s Note, Chips All In and No Silent (Benoit Photos)

Boat Trip now boasts two stakes wins on his resume, which stands at 15-5-6-1,
$253,196. The Mike Pender trainee’s previous stakes score came in last year’s
one-mile Tsunami Slew on the Hollywood green and he followed up by concluding
his sophomore season next out when fifth in the Oceanside on Del Mar’s 2012
opening day card.

“He’s going to be sad to
see (Hollywood Park) go, that’s for sure. He just likes the layout,
there’s no question about it,” sighed Pender, referencing the eminent shutdown
of the track at the conclusion of the current meet.

Boat Trip didn’t return to competition until May, finishing third
in an allowance at Hollywood, then posted a neck victory under those same
conditions one month later. He has since just missed by a half-length when
fourth in the Green Flash Handicap, posted a nose second in the Grade 3 Eddie D.
and finished 12th in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint.

Bred in Kentucky by Galleria Bloodstock & Samac, Boat Trip is campaigned by
James Hirschmann III and B. J. Wright. He didn’t meet his reserve when only
attracting a final bid of $27,000 during the 2010 Keeneland September Yearling
Sale, but sold for $100,000 as an OBS March two-year-old in training the
next spring.