Back In The Bay

That recent form reads 7-3-1-2-1-3 — a bit of a mixed bag, admittedly, but two wins tucked inside six races is a meaningful uptick for a horse that had gone without a victory for the first three races of its career. The first win came at Fakenham in May 2025, and the second followed at Stratford-on-Avon in July — two very different tracks, which hints that Back In The Bay isn't just a one-venue wonder. That said, the most recent run was a seventh-place finish just yesterday, so there's a real question mark over current form.

The horse competes at Class 4 level, which sits roughly in the middle of the racing pyramid — not the elite stuff, but not the entry level either. At that grade, Back In The Bay has won 1 from 5 races (20%), meaning it holds its own without dominating. The trainer is James Owen, based out of Newmarket, and his yard has had a remarkable season — 204 winners is a serious number that puts him among the most productive operations in the country. A trainer running at that volume and that success rate tends to place horses carefully, so when one of his wins a race, it usually means it was ready to win.

At 7 years old, Back In The Bay is in the prime years of a jumps career — old enough to know what it's doing, young enough to still be improving. Two wins in the last six races, trained by one of the season's standout yards, and raced just yesterday: this is a horse very much in the middle of its story.