Raceday LIVE – Hey Day Baby
Newton Abbot,
Mon 09 Sep 2024 15:15
Related horse(s):
Hey Day Baby
Hey Day Baby goes in search of back-to-back wins in this afternoon's Class 5 Conditional Jockeys' Handicap Chase (15:15) over two miles and five furlongs at Newton Abbot.
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
Last time out, Hey Day Baby provided one of the best performances that the Coral Racing Club has seen when she bolted up at Market Rasen by twelve lengths to shake off her maiden tag at the ninth attempt. She was sent off at 12/1 having been as long as 25/1 earlier in the day, but she put in an effort that would be more expected of an odds on shot rather than that of an outsider in the race.
Trainer A J O'Neill had been very complimentary of Hey Day Baby in regard to what she had been showing at home in preparation for the race, but there was still a big question mark around if she could reproduce it on the track given what she had shown so far over hurdles and over fences.
WATCH: Hey Day Baby scores in emphatic fashion at Market Rasen
Prior to that outing last month, Hey Day Baby had struggled to find her footing on the racecourse, so to speak, having only managed a best position of fourth in her eight runs under rules to that point in time. That race happened to be her final appearance over hurdles, with trainers Jonjo & A J O'Neill choosing to switch her to chasing following that contest.
Her first outing over the bigger obstacles didn't go to plan, as Benjamin Macey was forced to pull her up before the fourth last fence and after the race, is became apparent that she had bled which was why she was unable to show a true run. Thankfully, there were no ill effects of that incident, and she was back to her best at home immediately after, and went on to score in style in just her second appearance over fences under talented conditional jockey, Benjamin Macey, who again takes the reins this afternoon and is able to claim a valuable ten pounds from her handicap with him being formally assigned to the Jackdaws Castle yard.
Hey Day Baby went into her race at Market Rasen last time out rated just 69, but off the back of that near faultless victory, she was raised a staggering 12lb by the handicapper. Today's contest is level in terms of it being a Class 5 0-100, but the competition is undoubtedly stronger, especially at the head of the market with the Paul Nicholls trained Dancingontheedge (rated 97) and C&D winner Coconut Twist (rated 95).
Hey Day Baby on her way to victory at Market Rasen last month
WATCH: Raceday message from trainer A J O'Neill
Trainer and Jockey Statistics
Jonjo & A J O'Neill have been relatively quiet since the jumps action returned, fielding only eight runners in the last fortnight and only coming home with two place finishes to show for it. The father and son duo are operating at a modest strike-rate of 13% so far this season, coming home with 18 winners from 137 runners, one of which was Hey Day Baby. Our mare will be just the second runner for the O'Neill team at Newton Abbot this season too, with the other coming home fourth for minor prize money earlier in the season.
Benjamin Macey's last winning ride was onboard Hey Day Baby just over three weeks ago, and he's only picked up one ride since then, which was an unsuccessful one also for Jonjo & A J O'Neill. Today marks the first time the young conditional jockey will head to the English Riviera, and we'll be hoping that it's a dream debut for him.
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 Newton Abbot this afternoon.
Each winner, along with a guest of their choosing, will receive free entry to Newton Abbot 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 £10,650 in total, with the winner set to scoop £5,624 for their lucky owners.
2nd: £2,587 | 3rd: £1,293 | 4th: £647 | 5th: £322
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 rival.
Hey Day Baby
Having been too free on a few occasions in the past, Hey Day Baby has settled much better in her two starts over fences and seemed very well suited by a strong gallop set by the leaders at Market Rasen last time. Always travelling well middle of the field early on, she made smooth progress down the back prior to taking up the running turning in and clearing away over the final two fences under a well-judged ride by Ben Macey who is back in the saddle here.
A previous point-to-point winner, she’s clearly a much better chaser than hurdler with her jumping looking an asset and she’s going the right way over fences. She will need to progress again having been hit with a 12lbs rise in the ratings, but it seems a fair assessment from the handicapper given the ease of victory and I’m not sure the higher mark is the factor that will stop her following up. A greater concern is the return to more testing ground conditions which are an unknown quantity and her enthusiastic style raises a doubt as to whether it’s what she wants.
One To Watch
The track should suit fine and though a few of her rivals arrive in form they’re a fairly well exposed bunch at this level and likely improvers are thin on the ground. The exception could be Dancingontheedge who has been consistent over hurdles and could have more to offer switched to fences for the first time at a course he won at over hurdles. Longer trips have stretched his stamina on his last two starts and the drop in trip here looks a plus so he looks the one to beat.
NEWTON ABBOT 15:15 – LATEST BETTING HERE
We hope you enjoyed reading today's Raceday LIVE Preview. Don't forget to tune in just before 15:15 to watch Hey DayBaby'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
Last time out, Hey Day Baby provided one of the best performances that the Coral Racing Club has seen when she bolted up at Market Rasen by twelve lengths to shake off her maiden tag at the ninth attempt. She was sent off at 12/1 having been as long as 25/1 earlier in the day, but she put in an effort that would be more expected of an odds on shot rather than that of an outsider in the race.
Trainer A J O'Neill had been very complimentary of Hey Day Baby in regard to what she had been showing at home in preparation for the race, but there was still a big question mark around if she could reproduce it on the track given what she had shown so far over hurdles and over fences.
WATCH: Hey Day Baby scores in emphatic fashion at Market Rasen
Prior to that outing last month, Hey Day Baby had struggled to find her footing on the racecourse, so to speak, having only managed a best position of fourth in her eight runs under rules to that point in time. That race happened to be her final appearance over hurdles, with trainers Jonjo & A J O'Neill choosing to switch her to chasing following that contest.
Her first outing over the bigger obstacles didn't go to plan, as Benjamin Macey was forced to pull her up before the fourth last fence and after the race, is became apparent that she had bled which was why she was unable to show a true run. Thankfully, there were no ill effects of that incident, and she was back to her best at home immediately after, and went on to score in style in just her second appearance over fences under talented conditional jockey, Benjamin Macey, who again takes the reins this afternoon and is able to claim a valuable ten pounds from her handicap with him being formally assigned to the Jackdaws Castle yard.
Hey Day Baby went into her race at Market Rasen last time out rated just 69, but off the back of that near faultless victory, she was raised a staggering 12lb by the handicapper. Today's contest is level in terms of it being a Class 5 0-100, but the competition is undoubtedly stronger, especially at the head of the market with the Paul Nicholls trained Dancingontheedge (rated 97) and C&D winner Coconut Twist (rated 95).
Hey Day Baby on her way to victory at Market Rasen last monthWATCH: Raceday message from trainer A J O'Neill
Trainer and Jockey Statistics
Jonjo & A J O'Neill have been relatively quiet since the jumps action returned, fielding only eight runners in the last fortnight and only coming home with two place finishes to show for it. The father and son duo are operating at a modest strike-rate of 13% so far this season, coming home with 18 winners from 137 runners, one of which was Hey Day Baby. Our mare will be just the second runner for the O'Neill team at Newton Abbot this season too, with the other coming home fourth for minor prize money earlier in the season.
Benjamin Macey's last winning ride was onboard Hey Day Baby just over three weeks ago, and he's only picked up one ride since then, which was an unsuccessful one also for Jonjo & A J O'Neill. Today marks the first time the young conditional jockey will head to the English Riviera, and we'll be hoping that it's a dream debut for him.
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 Newton Abbot this afternoon.
Each winner, along with a guest of their choosing, will receive free entry to Newton Abbot 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 £10,650 in total, with the winner set to scoop £5,624 for their lucky owners.
2nd: £2,587 | 3rd: £1,293 | 4th: £647 | 5th: £322
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 rival.
Hey Day Baby
Having been too free on a few occasions in the past, Hey Day Baby has settled much better in her two starts over fences and seemed very well suited by a strong gallop set by the leaders at Market Rasen last time. Always travelling well middle of the field early on, she made smooth progress down the back prior to taking up the running turning in and clearing away over the final two fences under a well-judged ride by Ben Macey who is back in the saddle here.
A previous point-to-point winner, she’s clearly a much better chaser than hurdler with her jumping looking an asset and she’s going the right way over fences. She will need to progress again having been hit with a 12lbs rise in the ratings, but it seems a fair assessment from the handicapper given the ease of victory and I’m not sure the higher mark is the factor that will stop her following up. A greater concern is the return to more testing ground conditions which are an unknown quantity and her enthusiastic style raises a doubt as to whether it’s what she wants.
One To Watch
The track should suit fine and though a few of her rivals arrive in form they’re a fairly well exposed bunch at this level and likely improvers are thin on the ground. The exception could be Dancingontheedge who has been consistent over hurdles and could have more to offer switched to fences for the first time at a course he won at over hurdles. Longer trips have stretched his stamina on his last two starts and the drop in trip here looks a plus so he looks the one to beat.
NEWTON ABBOT 15:15 – LATEST BETTING HERE
We hope you enjoyed reading today's Raceday LIVE Preview. Don't forget to tune in just before 15:15 to watch Hey DayBaby's next run for the club live on the Coral Sports app.
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