Teaching himself the job with no preconceived notions or received wisdom, Pipe changed his training methods, which started out following what was typical at the time, and when he started winning races others became suspicious of his methods. ITV did an edition of The Cook Report in 1991 that according to the Racing Post "basically accused Pipe of every dodgy practice short of witchcraft" and according to The Guardian in 2006 was "a very spiteful programme without foundation". The Times, writing in 2020, called it a "savaging" and said of the insinuations of ethical violations and cruelty, "The truth, though, was that Pipe was just getting his horses fitter than anyone else, knew precisely when they were healthy enough to do themselves justice, and ran them in the right races."
Teaching himself the job without any preconceived notions or accepted knowledge, Pipe altered his training methods, which initially followed what was common at the time. When he began winning races, others grew suspicious of his techniques. ITV produced an episode of The Cook Report in 1991 that according to the Racing Post "basically accused Pipe of every dubious practice short of witchcraft," and according to The Guardian in 2006 was "a very spiteful program without foundation." In 2020, The Times described it as a "savaging" and stated about the insinuations of ethical violations and cruelty, "The truth, however, was that Pipe was just making his horses fitter than anyone else, knew precisely when they were healthy enough to perform well, and ran them in appropriate races."