Raceday LIVE – Hey Day Baby
Leicester,
Mon 18 Nov 2024 15:10
Related horse(s):
Hey Day Baby
Hey Day Baby is set to make her second start in less than seven days this afternoon in the Class 5 Mares' Handicap Chase over 2m6½f (15:10) at Leicester.
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 Hey Day Baby lucky owners for the day across our social channels on X (@coral) and Instagram (@coralofficial).
Raceday LIVE Preview
It's only been four days since we saw Hey Day Baby run last at Market Rasen, where she ran in snatches to finish sixth of ten runners, in what turned out to be a fairly resolute performance. She spent most of the race in the rear of the main group of runners, but well in touch of those leading the group. The strong gallop set by those taking up the running certainly lent itself to Hey Day Baby's preference, as she appears to settle better when the race is run at a quick pace, as opposed to slower, more deliberate fields.
The ground was reported as being 'Good' on the day, although you could see that the turf was being kicked up more than you would expect on genuinely quick ground, and this likely contributed to our mare hitting a flat spot during the race, where it looked like she might not be able to continue keeping up with the field. However her pilot, Ben Macey, who has ridden her on all five of her chase starts to date, did a wonderful job in getting her back on the bridle after that slight slowdown.
Hey Day Baby's Owners for the Day with Jonjo O'Neill and Ben Macey at Market Rasen last week
Despite what was a great piece of horsemanship from the young conditional, it was clear that the burst of energy needed to catch her back up to the group had taken its toll, and Hey Day Baby put in a fairly tired looking jump at the third flight from the finish, which was easy to spot given she had jumped superbly up until that point in the contest. Following that, Ben made the decision to get Hey Day Baby home in her own time, as she still had the gas to see her race out, and she came home in sixth position after having an easy time for the final half a mile or so.
WATCH: Ben Macey reviews Hey Day Baby's run at Market Rasen from his perspective
Jonjo and A J O'Neill had made the entry for today's race on the off chance that Hey Day Baby didn't run at Market Rasen for whatever reason, or if she unseated early on and didn't run any sort of race. However, the decision was made to declare her over the weekend given the condition she came out of the Market Rasen contest in. The team at Jackdaws told us that she had come out in very good order and that they were happy to turn her around to get another run in quickly.
This was definitely down in part to Ben Macey's performance on Hey Day Baby. He made the right choice in not giving her an easy time when it was clear she wouldn't be contesting the finish with the front runners, and also made sure she made it home in sound order. Had he ridden her out to the finish and not protected her as much, then it's within the realms of possibility that she wouldn't be able to go again so soon, or be able to give as good an account of herself that we know she can.
The ground is set to be Good at Leicester, as it frequently is, and is less likely to cut up as much as it did at Market Rasen did the last time, given the course's fame for having relatively quick running year round.
WATCH: Trainer A J O'Neill provides an update at Cheltenham after declaring Hey Day Baby for today's contest
A J has been in touch this morning and this is what he had to say on Hey Day Baby ahead of today's race:
"Hey Day Baby came out of her race at Market Rasen so well, we decided on Saturday that we would declare her for this afternoon’s Mares’ handicap chase at Leicester. The going is good to firm, good in places, on their chase course, which she will love, she’s one of eight lining up, and it doesn’t look the strongest of fields.
Ben [Macey] looked after her once it was clear she wasn’t going to be in the first three or four at Market Rasen. Another positive was that she didn’t bleed at Market Rasen, and with our horses running well generally, it all makes sense to have a go at this race. Hopefully she can run a solid race for the club."
Chris Dixon, Racing TV Analyst, gives us his thoughts on Hey Day Baby's chances this afternoon and who he thinks could be her main rivals
Hey Day Baby once again failed to reproduce the form of her Market Rasen win when returning to the Lincolnshire track earlier in the week and that easy victory in August is beginning to feel like a long time ago. As such it’s hard to be confident of a much improved show just four days on from the latest heavy defeat.
Northern Reel comes from a yard in good form and ran her best race yet when switching to fences at Stratford last time. That’s hardly a surprise given her background as a winning point-to-pointer and there could easily be more to come from her over larger obstacles.
Similar comments apply to Faha Belle and she was unfortunate not to finish a bit closer on her chase debut at Sedgefield last month. This stiffer track is likely to be a positive and she could be one to progress. Both those mares are likely to be ridden with patience and there’s a chance Another Day Out gets loose on the lead. A winner at Huntingdon on her second chase start back in May, she made a couple of mistakes at Market Rasen next time but still wasn’t disgraced before getting right back to form with a sound jumping display when just beaten at Ludlow last time. She looks a big player especially if getting an easy lead though there’s a suspicion the other two mares mentioned may be better handicapped. As for the remainder, they’ve mostly being struggling for form and realistically this looks to be fought out between Another Day Out, Faha Belle and Northern Reel.
Trainer and Jockey Statistics
Jonjo & A J O'Neill have remained in top form over the past two weeks with seven winners from their last 38 runners, including a double across the cards at Cheltenham and Southwell on Friday, with Wreckless Eric winning a valuable novice handicap at the home of jumps racing. Hey Day Baby will be the third runner that the Jackdaws team have had at Leicester since A J O'Neill joined the license, with the first two runners going earlier on the card.
Benjamin Macey had one ride at the Cheltenham November Meeting onboard Stay If U Want To for the O'Neill team and the pair finished seventh (16 ran). Hey Day Baby is his only ride today, and it will be his first time visiting Leicester Racecourse.
Hey Day Baby'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 Hey Day Baby's run at Leicester this afternoon.
Each winner, along with a guest of their choosing, will receive free entry to Leicester Racecourse, including exclusive access to Owners & Trainers areas. They'll have the opportunity to meet Hey Day Baby and the Jonjo & A J O'Neill 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 Hey Day Baby.
Prize Money
Today's Class 5 contest is worth £8,000 in total, with the winner set to scoop £4,224 for their lucky owners.
2nd: £1,944 | 3rd: £972 | 4th: £486 | 5th: £242
LEICESTER 15:10 – LATEST ODDS HERE
We hope you enjoyed reading today's Raceday LIVE Preview. Don't forget to tune in just before 15:10 to watch Hey Day Baby's next run for the club live on the Coral Sports app.
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 Hey Day Baby lucky owners for the day across our social channels on X (@coral) and Instagram (@coralofficial).
Raceday LIVE Preview
It's only been four days since we saw Hey Day Baby run last at Market Rasen, where she ran in snatches to finish sixth of ten runners, in what turned out to be a fairly resolute performance. She spent most of the race in the rear of the main group of runners, but well in touch of those leading the group. The strong gallop set by those taking up the running certainly lent itself to Hey Day Baby's preference, as she appears to settle better when the race is run at a quick pace, as opposed to slower, more deliberate fields.
The ground was reported as being 'Good' on the day, although you could see that the turf was being kicked up more than you would expect on genuinely quick ground, and this likely contributed to our mare hitting a flat spot during the race, where it looked like she might not be able to continue keeping up with the field. However her pilot, Ben Macey, who has ridden her on all five of her chase starts to date, did a wonderful job in getting her back on the bridle after that slight slowdown.
Hey Day Baby's Owners for the Day with Jonjo O'Neill and Ben Macey at Market Rasen last week
Despite what was a great piece of horsemanship from the young conditional, it was clear that the burst of energy needed to catch her back up to the group had taken its toll, and Hey Day Baby put in a fairly tired looking jump at the third flight from the finish, which was easy to spot given she had jumped superbly up until that point in the contest. Following that, Ben made the decision to get Hey Day Baby home in her own time, as she still had the gas to see her race out, and she came home in sixth position after having an easy time for the final half a mile or so.
WATCH: Ben Macey reviews Hey Day Baby's run at Market Rasen from his perspective
Jonjo and A J O'Neill had made the entry for today's race on the off chance that Hey Day Baby didn't run at Market Rasen for whatever reason, or if she unseated early on and didn't run any sort of race. However, the decision was made to declare her over the weekend given the condition she came out of the Market Rasen contest in. The team at Jackdaws told us that she had come out in very good order and that they were happy to turn her around to get another run in quickly.
This was definitely down in part to Ben Macey's performance on Hey Day Baby. He made the right choice in not giving her an easy time when it was clear she wouldn't be contesting the finish with the front runners, and also made sure she made it home in sound order. Had he ridden her out to the finish and not protected her as much, then it's within the realms of possibility that she wouldn't be able to go again so soon, or be able to give as good an account of herself that we know she can.
The ground is set to be Good at Leicester, as it frequently is, and is less likely to cut up as much as it did at Market Rasen did the last time, given the course's fame for having relatively quick running year round.
WATCH: Trainer A J O'Neill provides an update at Cheltenham after declaring Hey Day Baby for today's contest
A J has been in touch this morning and this is what he had to say on Hey Day Baby ahead of today's race:
"Hey Day Baby came out of her race at Market Rasen so well, we decided on Saturday that we would declare her for this afternoon’s Mares’ handicap chase at Leicester. The going is good to firm, good in places, on their chase course, which she will love, she’s one of eight lining up, and it doesn’t look the strongest of fields.
Ben [Macey] looked after her once it was clear she wasn’t going to be in the first three or four at Market Rasen. Another positive was that she didn’t bleed at Market Rasen, and with our horses running well generally, it all makes sense to have a go at this race. Hopefully she can run a solid race for the club."
Chris Dixon, Racing TV Analyst, gives us his thoughts on Hey Day Baby's chances this afternoon and who he thinks could be her main rivals
Hey Day Baby once again failed to reproduce the form of her Market Rasen win when returning to the Lincolnshire track earlier in the week and that easy victory in August is beginning to feel like a long time ago. As such it’s hard to be confident of a much improved show just four days on from the latest heavy defeat.
Northern Reel comes from a yard in good form and ran her best race yet when switching to fences at Stratford last time. That’s hardly a surprise given her background as a winning point-to-pointer and there could easily be more to come from her over larger obstacles.
Similar comments apply to Faha Belle and she was unfortunate not to finish a bit closer on her chase debut at Sedgefield last month. This stiffer track is likely to be a positive and she could be one to progress. Both those mares are likely to be ridden with patience and there’s a chance Another Day Out gets loose on the lead. A winner at Huntingdon on her second chase start back in May, she made a couple of mistakes at Market Rasen next time but still wasn’t disgraced before getting right back to form with a sound jumping display when just beaten at Ludlow last time. She looks a big player especially if getting an easy lead though there’s a suspicion the other two mares mentioned may be better handicapped. As for the remainder, they’ve mostly being struggling for form and realistically this looks to be fought out between Another Day Out, Faha Belle and Northern Reel.
Trainer and Jockey Statistics
Jonjo & A J O'Neill have remained in top form over the past two weeks with seven winners from their last 38 runners, including a double across the cards at Cheltenham and Southwell on Friday, with Wreckless Eric winning a valuable novice handicap at the home of jumps racing. Hey Day Baby will be the third runner that the Jackdaws team have had at Leicester since A J O'Neill joined the license, with the first two runners going earlier on the card.
Benjamin Macey had one ride at the Cheltenham November Meeting onboard Stay If U Want To for the O'Neill team and the pair finished seventh (16 ran). Hey Day Baby is his only ride today, and it will be his first time visiting Leicester Racecourse.
Hey Day Baby'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 Hey Day Baby's run at Leicester this afternoon.
Each winner, along with a guest of their choosing, will receive free entry to Leicester Racecourse, including exclusive access to Owners & Trainers areas. They'll have the opportunity to meet Hey Day Baby and the Jonjo & A J O'Neill 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 Hey Day Baby.
Prize Money
Today's Class 5 contest is worth £8,000 in total, with the winner set to scoop £4,224 for their lucky owners.
2nd: £1,944 | 3rd: £972 | 4th: £486 | 5th: £242
LEICESTER 15:10 – LATEST ODDS HERE
We hope you enjoyed reading today's Raceday LIVE Preview. Don't forget to tune in just before 15:10 to watch Hey Day Baby's next run for the club live on the Coral Sports app.
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