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Racehorse Profile
Trainer Ollie Pears is adept at finding horses with great attitudes (such as 6-time winner Crown Princess and 7-time winner Ready Freddie Go) and this gelding is a perfect example of a superb syndicate horse that runs regularly, is competitive, and wins in his turn.
As a two-year-old A Day To Dream (known as 'Ray' in the yard) managed to have an up-and-down season where for one reason or another he wasn't quite able to advertise his ability. He was racing over an inadequate trip for his first three runs, ran well on his third run in a hot handicap, and was found to have a virus after disappointing on his fifth run.
Probably the best measure of the sort of horse he will no doubt turn into, was his fourth run when a very good sixth at Beverley in June. That run was the first time he had stepped up in trip after three midfield runs over six furlongs. Over the extended seven at Beverley, he finished close up and a huge number of winners subsequently came out of that race.
Ollie told us ahead of his 2023 season, "I will have him ready to go as soon as the racing starts in April and I'm hoping to get a win into this chap within the first few runs as a 3YO.’
In fact, ‘Ray’ won first time out! He went to Thirsk in April and won a 1m 4f handicap (his first run over that distance). Shareholders were then treated to a wonderful summer where A Day To Dream ran every few weeks and never finished out of the first few home. He amassed another six runs where he wasn’t out of the first four home, and in his other two runs, he was fifth and sixth, only beaten a few lengths in slowly run affairs.
Ray has proved himself to be a proper competitive handicapper, and is a great horse to be involved with because he races often, always does his best, and is happy with both professional and apprentice jockeys on his back because he’s got such a great temperament.
Ollie says of Ray, ‘He's a really straightforward sort and tries hard. And despite his handicap mark, he has won more prize money than many of my horses rated 20lbs higher! He has had a wonderful 2023 season and he’s such a hard worker and so well handicapped too, I’m sure we will have just as much fun with him as he climbs the ratings in 2024."
Ollie went on to say "He will muscle up again over the winter, as he's got plenty of scope and I'm looking forward to getting him running competitively and consistently. He remains a horse to follow in my book."
Indeed, when it came to discussing which horses we would be keeping going into the 2023 season, Ray was the first horse Ollie mentioned as a 'keeper'!
This gelding's breeding backs up Ollie's view of A Day to Dream. His father was top class and has proven himself as a decent source of genuine, generally sharp offspring. His mother won several times over five to seven furlongs and he has three brothers and a sister who between them have won over seventeen races and proven themselves capable over longer distances as they got older.
"This colt has Danehill relations in both sides of his pedigree and the fact he is related to several winners from the same mother was a big plus when I saw him at the Tattersalls book three sales. Adaay is stamping his progeny with plenty of stamina and I couldn't resist this chap, as I'm a big fan of the Kodiac line," stated the trainer.
Ollie Pears noted: "We like Ray a lot in the yard. He is quite a 'busy' sort and is always aware of what's going on around him. Because of his mixed pedigree in terms of trip, it wasn’t a surprise that when we tried him over two miles he got home without any problem. He's well-built and has plenty of bone on him and an intelligent head.’
This gelding is currently at Ollie Pears' yard in Malton and will be overwintered at the yard. After trotting and cantering in January, he will have a short rest before starting the hard work and will be ready to race in the first few months of the 2024 season.
We will be reporting this gelding's progress for shareholders on an ad-hoc basis, updating them on the major breakthroughs with his training - and will provide regular updates on his progress on the gallops in detail from January onward. During the heart of the season, we publish update reports every 7-10 days, and more regularly when he actively starts racing.
If everything goes to plan, Ray will start racing in April 2024 and race regularly. We expect between 4 and 10 runs from him in his 4YO season (he ran eight times in 2023), and he will most likely race around the Yorkshire, Scottish, Lancashire, and North Eastern racetracks.
Form & Race Plans
The race plans for this gelding are to race him in middle-distance handicaps and gradually work his way up the handicap. He has won over a mile and a half and went well on his only try over two miles and Ollie believes he hasn't displayed his true ability over the marathon distance yet.
He acts on any ground from Good to Firm through to Good to Soft, although he has shown a slight preference for a proper fast surface. This is great news, especially if we have another summer like 2023 where it could go from firm to heavy in a matter of hours due to rain bursts.
There are plenty of races available for him from April onwards. Virtually every meeting has a long-distance handicap on the card, and Ray will be seen at Catterick, Beverley, Redcar, Thirsk, Pontefract and may go on the All-Weather and up to Scotland as well. Your online Racehorse Manager will provide full details of all developments in terms of the 4YO's progress and race planning as the season progresses.
A Day To Dream 2024 Guarantee
We expect to get 3-6 runs and sometimes more from all our older horses per share period, however, you should expect periods of no racing as a result of recuperation from injury or training setbacks. This share period starts properly at the start of the turf season on April 1st 2024 and runs through the turf season until November 1st 2024, however, we will be reporting on the gelding before the share period starts (from January 2024) should we have anything of importance to share with shareholders.
During the season the horse may be rested or have time away from the track to recover and it is quite normal for a flat horse to have periods of 3-6 weeks rest between races. Young horses are particularly susceptible to sore shins, bone chips, and growing pains, and can need a greater time to recover between races.>/p>
We provide guarantees with all our racehorses: If this gelding has a season-ending injury and has not already RACED TWICE during the share period, we will replace him with an alternative horse for the remainder of the season. Replacement horses may not be of the same quality, are provided with no further guarantees and no alternative choice can be provided. Prizemoney cannot be paid on any replacements, but all other benefits such as yard visits and race day badges are available.
As a shareholder you must understand that we cannot guarantee your horse's performance, a specific volume of runs (beyond our minimum guarantee if injured) or that runs will be evenly spaced throughout the share period. This is the chance you take when owning any racehorse and participating in this ownership experience. If you will be disappointed with only 2-3 runs from your racehorse during the season, then please DO NOT PARTICIPATE IN THIS OR ANY OTHER RACEHORSE, as you could be disappointed. We believe in being crystal clear with our shareholders - any participation in racehorse ownership is risky, and we are unable to make any refunds because of share periods which finish early due to injury or retirement - as training and livery fees for the horse still remain whether they are racing or not and part of your lease payment covers their build-up to the season.
These risks are the chance all shareholders take as we do ourselves when participating in the ownership of racehorses.