Hey Day Baby made her long awaited return to the track in the 13:15 Mares' Novices' Hurdle over two miles at Plumpton on Monday.

Having been off the track for seven months as she recovered from a muscle injury, the most important result was for her to finish the race safe and sound, which is what she did, so we were happy to see that.

To find out more about how the race went, check out our Race Review below, including a couple of key quotes from jockey Richie McLernon.

Race Review

Hey Day Baby started well and was travelling within the leading group for much of the early running of the race.

Her jumping was solid for the entirety of the first circuit, however, our mare then made a mistake at the sixth hurdle, before the downhill section of the track, and began to drop through the field.

She continued to backtrack for the remainder of the race, never really picking up again, and ended up finishing in ninth place out of the ten runners.

The race was won by the James Owen-trained, Sweet Fantasy, ridden by Harry Cobden.

In his post-race interview, Hey Day Baby's jockey, Richie McLernon, said "I was very happy where I was, I was travelling easily, travelling well, and then she missed that one before going downhill, and she shouldn’t really have an excuse". 

He went on to say "she had a tongue tie on, but I'd nearly swap that for cheekpieces, that was more the impression she gave me".

What's next for Hey Day Baby?

Trainer Jonjo O'Neill reported back to us that Hey Day Baby trotted up fine the morning after the race, and that the team will wait for her handicap mark to be revealed before planning from there.

Stay tuned for the next update from Jackdaws Castle.