It's not a question of downgrading Street Sense, per se, because he gets perfect trips, but when you objectively analyze races you have to take into account trips. The bottom line is that things have worked out extraordinarily well for Street Sense in a number of his races. Now, part of this is because he is a closer, but not a plodder, so he has the ability to put himself into races and not necessarily become victimized by slow paces. This sets him apart from, say, a horse like Dynever, who had no natural speed, and was thus constantly victimized. Thus Street Sense can sit six to eight lengths off the lead if the pace isn't as acute as it has been in these previous two races, and still close effectively. However, his trips in both the Derby and Preakness have been picture perfect, both because the paces were strong, and because he was able to navigate smoothly through the field. Some of this is because he is a handy horse who seems comfortable inside of horses, while many are not, but there is no denying that he has been the fortunate recipiant of unusually friendly circumstances.
The bottom line is that this won't always be the case and until Street Sense overcomes a mediocre trip, such as Curlin did in this Preakness, he still has something to prove. At least to objective observers that is.
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