Dublin Racing Festival 2023 Day 2 Tips – Sunday 6th February

Day 2 of the Dublin Racing Festival takes place on Sunday 5th February and asked Ciaran to go through the eight races card and picked a betting tip for each.

There are some high-class horses in action including Blue Lord, State Man, Honeysuckle and Facile Vega. The action gets underway at 1.10pm and four Grade 1 races on the card as well as some tricky handicaps to solve.

See all our day 2 Dublin Racing Festival tips below and some free bet offers you can use to bet on the races with the bookies money instead of your own!

 

Dublin Racing Festival Day 2 Tips

• 1.10pm – Risk Belle (5/1)
• 1.40pm – James Du Berlais (3/1)
• 2.10pm – Blue Lord (1/4)
• 2.40pm – Ciel De Niege (14/1)
• 3.10pm – State Man (6/5)
• 3.40pm – Facile Vega (2/5)
• 4.10pm – An Mhi (14/1)
• 4.40pm – Lily Du Berlais (14/1)

 

1.10

The first race on day 2 gives us a Mares Handicap Hurdle that has seen some classy types take victory. In the last 3 years, Party Central, Heaven Help Us and Black Tears have won and in the case of the last 2 ran on to finish first and second respectively in the Coral Cup at Cheltenham. I think Liberty Dance is a worthy favourite but a risk is taken on JP and Willies 4 year old mare (pun very much intended). RISK BELLE (5/1) has been ridden eye catchingly in a couple of classy Juvenile contests won by potential superstar Lossiemouth after winning her opening 2 hurdle contests in France. She has been given what seemsq1 a lenient mark of 123 and I think she is handicapped to win. It’s just a matter of whether today is the day. If the money comes, then GSI. 

 

1.40

The Ladbrokes Novice Chase (Aka the Flogas) sees the clash of 2 Cheltenham antepost favourites. Mighty Potter was very impressive in the Drinmore and heads the market for the Turners while Gaillard du Mesnil heads the betting in both the Brown Advisory and National Hunt Chase. I don’t see any reason for him to turn the Drinmore around with Mighty Potter. One negative for the Favourite in my Eyes is the lack of Jack Kennedy. While Davy Russell is clearly a top class jockey, Kennedy had developed a great relationship with this keen going sort. A chance is taken on apparent Mullins second string JAMES DU BERLAIS (3/1) who looked very good on his chase debut. He was a smart performer over hurdles and this looks to be an ideal trip for a horse that seems to have both the Turners and Brown Advisory options at Cheltenham. 

 

2.10

A Sub Par Renewal of the Grade 1 Dublin Chase. BLUE LORD is the only grade 1 animal in here but at 1/4. He wins but at that price I won’t be having a bet

Looking to the future, he is almost certainly Champion Chase bound and I would give him every chance of turning the form around with Edwardstone, who is the rightful favourite at this time. I’d imagine that be Blue Lord could be close to that top of that list by Sunday evening. 

 

2.40

The next race, in stark contrast, is a wide open 23 runner handicap chase. The favourite is Gordon Elliott’s Indigo Breeze who has good form behind the (ridiculously short) favourite for the Brown Advisory the Real Whacker. However with a mark of 133, he is high in the betting for the Kim Muir and a win here would almost certainly rule that out. The same can be said for The Goffer. On that basis, a chance is taken on CIEL DE NEIGE (14/1) who effectively runs off here off 141 with a 7 pound claim. He clearly didn’t stay 3m here at Christmas but 2 runs ago, he lost by just a nose when giving 6 pounds to the now 152 rated French Dynamite. Ballyshannon Rose is another to watch out for at a huge 33/1. She ran a huge race in Clonmel over 2m 4, before again not staying 3m and then following up too quickly just a week later. 

 

3.10

The Irish Champion Hurdle sees arguably the clash of the Day. The people Champion Honeysuckle runs in what I fear could be her last race. Plenty have questioned her form in the last 2 years, and there is an argument that this has been a weak division. With Constitution Hill now proving how good he is, that can no longer be said and I think there are another couple of good ones here. I am a huge STATE MAN (6/5) fan. He has improved with every run and is tactically versatile. A lot was made of Vauban’s run at Christmas and while he will certainly improve, I don’t see him reversing the form. He could well have too much speed for Honeysuckle who, were she to come 3rd as I predict, may well not see competitive action again. If you see €2 in the tarmac, pick it up and place it on the Tricast. 

 

3.40

The last Grade 1 of the weekend sees the 2m novice hurdles unleashed. At last years DRF, arguably the most impressive performance came in bumper and FACILE VEGA went on to dominate the Spring Festivals. While some have crabbed the form of his win at Christmas, my take was that he was largely running within himself and expect him to come on from that run. He takes on some smart rivals in Irish Point and Inthepocket, along with one of the highest ever flat rated horses to go jumping. But my belief is that Favile Vega is more than smart. He could be a potential superstar and if he is, he should be winning here and following up in the Supreme in March. I expect him to oblige in both. 

 

4.10

If the Supreme winner runs at 3.40, then many would have you believe that the Ballymore champion will line up here. And there is a chance that Gaelic Warrior will just be too good for these, even with Top Weight. However, with his obvious tenancy to adjust right, at the price I have to take him on. 

Gordon Elliot trained the 1-2 in the race last year and this year saddles 3 in this year’s Renewal. I am going with AN MHI (14/1) who came 4th behind 3 £300,000 purchases in his Maiden point to point. Elliot brought him to Cheltenham for a maiden hurdle where he was running well before slipping up, followed by a seconds to a certain Facile Vega and the impressive Indiana Dream. Disappointing when well backed on his last outing, he has been given a very lenient mark of 122 and should go close in a tricky contest. 

 

4.40

The curtain closes with a Mares bumper. Last year saw one of the finishes of the meeting with 4 horses split by just ¾ of a length. 3rd and 4th that day were Liberty Dance and one Ashroe Diamond, while the 40/1 shock winner was LILY DU BERLAIS (9/2). She has stayed in bumpers this season and without doubt this is her main target. She was second on seasonal debut, but only beaten a length giving 3 pounds to Jetara who has boosted the form since with 2 very nice runs. Patrick has chosen to ride Sligo winner Fun Fun Fun over long term antepost favourite Fancy Girl and while both are respected, it hasn’t been a race for favourites and I’m happy to take both on. 

 

How to get the Dublin Racing Festival free bets at bet365

• Open a new account and make a deposit of £5 or £10 (or more)
• Place a qualifying bet (£5 or £10) and allow the bet to settle
• If you place £5, you will get £25 in free bets, if you place £10, you will get £50 in free bets
• Find your free bets, called bet credits, when you add selections to your betslip

JOIN BET365 TO GET YOUR £50 IN FREE BETS

Min deposit requirement. Free Bets are paid as Bet Credits and are available for use upon settlement of qualifying bets. Min odds, bet and payment method exclusions apply. Returns exclude Bet Credits stake. Time limits and T&Cs apply.

 

More Dublin Racing Festival Free Bet Offers

Already got a bet365 account? Try out one of these other sign-up offers to get DRF free bets this weekend – for example, open an SBK account, bet £10 to get a £10 free bet straight away. Or use the Betfred £40 offer by opening an account on Sunday and betting £10, you will get £40 in free bets and bonuses to spend.

 

1. SBK – Bet £10 get a £10 free bet

Join SBK and place a £10 bet on a Leopardstown race – you will get a £10 free bet credited to your account straight away.

e.g. sign-up and bet £10 on a Sunday race.

You will get a £10 free bet to spend on one of the next races.

JOIN SBK GET £10

 

2. Ladbrokes – bet £5 get 4x free £5 bets

Join Ladbrokes and place a £5 bet on any Dublin Racing Festival race today – you instantly get four free £5 bets credited to your account.

e.g. sign-up and bet £5 on the first race:

You will get:

• £5 free bet for the 1.55pm
• £5 free bet for the 2.30pm
• £5 free bet for the 3.05pm
• £5 free bet for the 3.40pm

JOIN LADBROKES GET £20

 

3. Coral – bet £5 get a £20 free bet

Open a new Coral account and bet £5 on the racing today to get a £20 free bet credited to your account.

e.g. sign-up and bet £5 on one of Sunday’s races.

Once you have placed your bet, you will get a £20 free bet which can be used on something else today or even saved for tomorrow’s card.

JOIN CORAL GET £20

 

More Free Bet Offers

All of these bookies are also offering free bets for betting on the Dublin Racing Festival and you can use a bookies bonus code to make sure you get the best offer when opening a new betting account.

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HeySpin: bet £15 get £10 free bet

1 Click this link to HeySpin’s bet £15 get £10 offer

2 Open a new account

3 Place a £15 bet on a race

4 Get a £10 free bet

 

William Hill: bet £10 get £30 in free bets

1 Tap this link to their sign-up offer

2 Bet £10 when you join

3 Add promo code R30

4 Get 3 free £10 bets added to your account

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