Conservative makes his debut over hurdles for trainer Joe Tizzard in today's Class 4 Novices' Hurdle (18:45) at Worcester over two miles.

Read our Raceday LIVE Preview below and join us ahead of the race for all the build-up and live updates from the track with the team and Conservative's lucky owners for the day across our social channels on X (@coral) and Instagram (@coralofficial).

Raceday LIVE Preview

The club's five-year-old gelding has had two runs on the flat so far for new trainer Joe Tizzard, and following those efforts he was supposed to head to Huntingdon to make his debut over hurdles. Unfortunately, the day prior to that race, our gelding pulled up lame at home so Joe was forced to pull him out of the contest. However, since then, Conservative has been back in full work and he's been showing pleasing progress at home following that minor setback in May.

Ever since he made the move to Joe's yard earlier this year, the Dorset-based trainer has been keen to see how Conservative would take to hurdles, and since he started training over obstacles, Joe has been more than happy with what he's shown so far whilst schooling at home.

Conservative hasn't been the easiest horse to predict on the flat, having been tried over a variety of trips from 7f to 1m4f in his 18 career starts to date, but he's certainly shown enough ability to give us hope that there's improvement left in the tank whether on the flat or over obstacles.

WATCH: Conservative (back) schooling over hurdles

There's little concern around Conservative's stamina given he's raced plenty over middle distances on the flat, and hopefully if he's in a good position as they enter the latter stages of the race then he can put his flat ability to good use as they head for the finish line.

Raceday message from Joe Tizzard

"The reason Conservative was switched to us was to see if a change of scene would help freshen him up, some horses can get stale within a particular environment, and also, by coming here, we had the opportunity to try him over hurdles, so it’s exciting that after a couple of false starts, we’re finally ready to start his jumping career.

He’s been working really well in recent weeks, and the pulled muscle has healed completely, and if his schooling at home is any guide, he has really taken to hurdling. However, doing it at home and doing it in a race are very different, a lot of this will all be new to him when the tapes go up.

That said, it doesn’t look the strongest race, it’s divided into two divisions which means it’s not a massive field he has to deal with, and the ground will be perfect for him, which is a huge plus given all the rain there’s been elsewhere.

Brendan Powell’s job will be to get him settled, get him enjoying his jumping, and if they can get into a rhythm, who knows how he can do? He did look to have gotten bored with flat racing, so this will need to revitalise him, but if he takes to the job as we hope he might, he could be a lot of fun."

Conservative's Owners for the Day

As winners of the Owner for the Day competition, 10 lucky Coral Racing Club members have been given the chance to enjoy an exclusive owners experience for Conservative's run at Worcester this evening.

Each winner, along with a guest of their choosing, will receive free entry to Worcester Racecourse, including exclusive access to Owners & Trainers areas. They'll have the opportunity to meet Conservative and the Joe Tizzard team, plus get to head into the parade ring before the race begins to be amongst all the other owners, trainers and jockeys. And last but by no means least, each winner will get to take home an equal 10% split of any prize money won by Conservative.

Today's Class 4 contest is worth £7,700 in total, with the winner set to scoop £4,193.42 for their lucky owners.

2nd: £1,931.93 | 3rd: £965.58 | 4th: £483.56

Trainer and jockey form

Joe Tizzard has sent just 19 runners to Worcester so far in his short career as sole trainer at Venn Farm, and those efforts have included three wins and five places.

Brendan Powell is a jockey with plenty of experience riding at the Cambridgeshire-based track with just over 200 rides under his belt, and from those he's won 21 contests and placed in a further 45. Brendan is also the stable jockey for Joe Tizzard, so it's no surprise that he's had 556 rides for the Dorset trainer throughout his career resulting in 64 victories, of which two have come this season.

Jockey Brendan Powell who rides Conservative today

Today's opposition

 

• Seasett is the most experience national hunt horse in the race, with ten runs over hurdles registered to his name. Irish trainer John Joseph Hanlon sends him over looking for his third win over jumps, and what would be his second win in three races, following success at Limerick two runs ago.
  
  
• Dame Sarra moved from Ed Dunlop to Noel Williams to begin her career over obstacles in February this year, and she finished a promising second on her debut over hurdles. The four-year-old followed that performance up with a victory last time out on good ground at Newton Abbot, so she should enjoy today's conditions.
  
  
• Despite not recording a win in his five runs over hurdles to date, Mandega has been in solid form since starting his jumping career. He's finished second once and third twice, and he returns to national hunt action today following a disappointing performance on the flat at the end of June.

    18:45 WORCESTER – LATEST ODDS HERE   

We hope you enjoyed reading today's Raceday LIVE Preview. Don't forget to tune in just before 18:45 to watch Conservative's hurdles debut live on the Coral Sports app.