Welcome to the Coral Racing Club

Raceday LIVE – Hey Day Baby

Warwick, Tue 24 Sep 2024 13:47

Related horse(s):

Hey Day Baby
Hey Day Baby makes her fourth start over fences for the Coral Racing Club in this afternoon's Class 5 Conditional Jockeys' Handicap Chase (13:47) over 2m4f at Warwick.

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

Hey Day Baby makes her 11th start for the club this afternoon in the opener at Warwick, and she goes there with a point to prove following a disappointing run last time out at Newton Abbot where she was pulled up by Ben Macey.

In her defence, she had at least a couple of very valid excuses on the day, including ground that was much softer than she'd prefer and the fact she had to do all the hard work out in front as there was no horse willing to take the lead as the tapes were lifted. The latter being quite crucial in fact, as we know she is a free-going sort, so in order to keep a lid on her, we'd prefer another horse to set the fractions and let her settle nicely in behind.

And during her penultimate run, that's exactly what Hey Day Baby got, and it resulted in a fantastic 12-length success following a calm as you like ride from young Ben. She was subsequently hiked up in the handicap ratings by 12lb, but we're still hoping there's more to come from the club's six-year-old daughter of Soldier Of Fortune when she gets the right conditions.

WATCH: Hey Day Baby scores in emphatic fashion at Market Rasen
CRC

Warwick is renown for it's tight turns and quick succession of obstacles for horses to navigate over, and that's going to prove a test for the whole field today. From what we've seen in her races so far, and in what she's shown at home at Jackdaws, Hey Day Baby is a natural over the bigger obstacles, and if she can put in a solid round of jumping today, whilst preserving some of her energy, we're hopeful of her running a big race.

There are 17 fences to jump today, and Hey Day Baby steps down slightly in trip from 2m5f to 2m4f, but there are no concerns regarding that given the way she bounded clear in the closing stages at Market Rasen last month.

The only slight concern could be the ground, with Warwick receiving a fair bit of rain throughout Monday afternoon, and if the ground was to turn anything worse than Good To Soft, it could make life difficult for Hey Day Baby. The good news is it looks dry for the majority of today, so hopefully the wet weather doesn't impact the going too much ahead of the race.

Hey Day Baby on her way to victory at Market Rasen last month

When we spoke to A J just over a week after Hey Day Baby's run at Newton Abbot, he mentioned how the handicapper had seemed to ignore that disappointing performance as they left her rating unchanged (81). The team at Jackdaws were keen to do the same and they hope to see more of the Hey Day Baby that turned up at Market Rasen.

Trainer and Jockey Statistics

Jonjo & A J O'Neill are still just getting their yard back up and running as the National Hunt season fast approaches like most, but today they have four entries at Warwick so will no doubt be hoping at least one of them can go close to landing their first winner in over two weeks (only five have ran in the past 14 days). In their short time as joint licence holders, they do have a very good strike-rate at Warwick, with two winners and one place from just six runners.

Benjamin Macey has a 100% record when riding at Warwick, albeit coming from just the one ride, but that was also in a Conditional Jockeys' Handicap Chase at the beginning of May, so we can definitely take some confidence from that going into today's similar contest.

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 Warwick this afternoon.

Each winner, along with a guest of their choosing, will receive free entry to Warwick 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

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
underperformed at Newton Abbot two weeks ago, an effort that can probably attributed to the return to a softer surface. Never jumping with the same zip as at Market Rasen for her win in August, she raced freely up with the pace prior to being pulled up but has clearly come out of that race non the worse and turns out again quite quickly. Conditions have eased since declarations were made and with further rain forecast there’s a danger conditions won’t suit come race day but if they are and she’s capable of reproducing that Market Rasen form, which came from a mid-division sit off a strong pace, something which looks likely to happen here, then she shouldn’t be far away.

Get With It may also be ideally suited by better ground than he could end up with here, though there’s probably less of a doubt about that in his case, and he definitely looks like a horse of interest at this level from an attractive mark having made a solid start for his new yard (now with Dan Skelton). He looks the one to beat with convincing arguments are hard to make for too many of the others in what looks a weak race despite the big field, but Smurfette looks a more solid proposition than most and should run well. The likes of Pawpaw and Lonimoss Bareliere arrive on the back of a good effort but don’t score highly on points for consistency and can’t be relied upon to show their form.

    WARWICK 13:47 – LATEST ODDS HERE    

We hope you enjoyed reading today's Raceday LIVE Preview. Don't forget to tune in just before 13:47 to watch Hey DayBaby's next run for the club live on the Coral Sports app.
CRC Badge 200x200
WELCOME TO THE CORAL RACING CLUB
Opt in for free to check out our stable of horses and trainers, get daily behind-the-scenes updates, plus the chance to win exclusive yard visits, hospitality experiences and raceday tickets.
Create new or log in to your Coral account to join the club
By opting in to the Coral Racing Club you agree to be bound by certain terms and conditions. View full T&Cs here.