2023 Cheltenham Festival Day 2 Tips
| Time | Race | Tip | Place Bet | |
| 13:30 | Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle |  | Gaelic Warriors | Place Bet |
| 14:10 | Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase |  | Thyme Hill | Place Bet |
| 14:50 | Coral Cup |  | Risk At All | Place Bet |
| 15:30 | Champion Chase |  | Edwardstone | Place Bet |
| 16:10 | Cross Country Chase |  | Delta Work | Place Bet |
| 16:50 | Grand Annual Handicap Chase |  | Saint Segal | Place Bet |
| 17:30 | Champion Bumper |  | Its For Me | Place Bet |
Cheltenham Festival Day 2 Preview
Day 2 of the Cheltenham Festival on Wednesday is known as “Ladies’ Day” with the featured event being the Grade 1 Queen Mother Champion Chase.
The big race may make the headlines but the big betting event of Cheltenham day 2 races is the Coral Cup, a very competitive handicap hurdle. As with the opening day, our tipsters will provide their Cheltenham Festival day 2 tips through the card as the ‘greatest show on turf’ continues.
Cheltenham Day 2 Races 2023
Cheltenham day 2 races promises to be another top-class afternoon of exciting racing action, kicking off at 1.30pm with the Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle and drawing to a close with the Weatherbys Champion Bumper at 5.30pm.
This could be a big day for Trainer Gordon Elliott with hot favourites Gerri Colombe (Brown Advisory Novices Chase) and Delta Work (Cross Country Chase) among his entries.
All eyes will be on the day’s feature race however, the Queen Mother Champion Chase, the third of four Grade One contests on the second day and the tapes go up at 3.30pm as the fourth race of the day.
| TIME | RACE | DISTANCE | PREVIEW |
| 13:30 | Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle Tips | 2m 5f | Race Preview |
| 14:10 | Brown Advisory Novice Chase Tips | 3m 1/2f | Race Preview |
| 14:50 | Coral Cup Tips | 2m 5f | Race Preview |
| 15.:30 | Queen Mother Champion Chase Tips | 2m | Race Preview |
| 16:10 | Cross Country Chase Tips | 3m 7f | Race Preview |
| 16:50 | Grand Annual Chase Tips | 2m 1/2f | Race Preview |
| 17:30 | Champion Bumper Tips | 2m 1/2f | Race Preview |
The first of seven Cheltenham Festival day 2 races is the Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle over an extended two and a half miles. Famous names on the roll of honour for this event include subsequent Champion Hurdle winners Istabraq, Hardy Eustace and Faugheen. Irish-trained runners have won eight of the last nine renewals.
We remain in novice company for the second race but switch to the larger obstacles for the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase (formerly known as the RSA Chase). This race has been won by future Gold Cup winners including Denman and Bobs Worth.
The valuable Coral Cup always attracts a maximum field on Cheltenham races day 2 with extra places on offer for each-way betting.
Good luck to all trying to find the winner with their Cheltenham Wednesday tips in what is usually a tricky puzzle for punters to solve! Only one winning favourite in the past twelve seasons tells its own story.
Race four is the feature race of the day, the Queen Mother Champion Chase over two miles. Last year’s race was billed as a rematch between Energumene and Shishkin after a thrilling Clarence House Chase. It did not follow the script as Shishkin was pulled up but Energumene stormed to victory and is back to defend his title.
The market suggests that Arkle winner Edwardstone will give him plenty to think about and he will feature in many peoples’ Cheltenham Festival day 2 tips.
Next up of the Cheltenham day 2 races is the Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase where Delta Work bids for a repeat victory. He was the party pooper last year when denying dual Grand National winner Tiger Roll a winning swansong but Delta Work will be among the most popular day 2 Cheltenham Festival Tips this year.
Race 6 is the Grand Annual Chase in which punters have a similar record to that of the Coral Cup. Winners at 66-1 and 28-1 in recent seasons suggests this will be another race to seek out the best each-way value for your Cheltenham Festival day 2 tips.
The Champion Bumper brings the curtain down on another top-class day of racing, a race which has become something of a Willie Mullins benefit. He won for an astonishing twelfth time in 2022 and for the third season in a row.
Cheltenham Wednesday Feature Race
Cheltenham Wednesday Feature Race
Spearheading the Cheltenham day 2 races is the Queen Mother Champion Chase at 3.30pm and this year’s race is being billed as a clash between Britain’s Edwardstone and Ireland’s reigning champion Energumene.
It is not quite as straight-forward as that with both horses beaten by Gary Moore’s Editeur Du Gite in Ascot’s Clarence House Chase at the end of January.
The Cheltenham Wednesday feature race brings together the best two mile chasers from across the UK and Ireland in what is sure to be another mouth-watering contest.
15:30 Queen Mother Champion Chase – (Grade 1) Cl1 (5yo+) 2m
The day two feature is open to horses aged five and over and the contest has been won by many great champions including dual winners Altior, Sprinter Sacre, Master Minded and Moscow Flyer. Energumene will join that list if he can bounce back from a disappointing defeat at Ascot last time. He provided Willie Mullins with his first Queen Mother Champion Chase victory last year.
Alan King trained Voy Por Ustedes to win the race in 2007 and provides the main danger in Edwardstone. He suffered a rare defeat over fences when edged out by Editeur Du Gite at Ascot but the ground was very testing that day and is likely to be more in his favour on Wednesday. Edwardstone was a smooth winner of the Arkle Chase 12 months’ ago and will be difficult to beat if he is in the same form for the Champion Chase.
Willie Mullins has other possible options here in Gentleman De Mee and Blue Lord, first and second in the Dublin Chase at Leopardstown. That was a big upset with Blue Lord starting the 1-4 favourite while the drying ground was put forward as an explanation for the improved form of the winner.
5 key trends to consider
- 12/12 winners had run at least twice that season.
- 11/12 winners had at least 7 runs over fences.
- 11/12 winners had raced at Cheltenham before.
- Just 3/11 winners were Irish trained.
- 16/18 winners had run at 2-3 times that season.
Other Races On Day Two
Other Races On Day Two
13:30 Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle – (Grade 1) Cl1 (4yo+) 2m5f
A superb race to start Day 2 of Cheltenham Festival. Trainer Willie Mullins will probably keep punters guessing on his chosen runners but you would expect Impaire Et Passe to feature while the best of the British appears to be the Paul Nicholls-trained Hermes Allen.
5 key trends to consider
- 8/9 winners aged 6.
- 8/9 winners were Irish trained.
- 12/12 winners no bigger than 20/1.
- 11/14 winners had won in a Graded hurdle.
- 12/13 winners finished in the top 2 in their last race.
14:10 Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase – (Grade 1) Cl1 (5yo+) 3m1/2f
It pays to look at the market in this race with five winning favourites in the past 8 renewals and all of them in the first three in the Cheltenham betting odds. Gerri Colombe looks like the one to beat this year after two Grade 1 victories for Gordon Elliott.
5 key trends to consider
- 8/8 winners from top three in the betting.
- 9/11 winners rated at least 143 over hurdles.
- 14/16 winners aged 6-7.
- 14/16 winners had raced at Cheltenham Festival previously.
- 12/12 winners had run between 6-13 runs in total over fences and hurdles.
14:50 Coral Cup Hurdle – (Grade 3) Cl1 (4yo+) 2m5f
This race can often spring a surprise, with ten of the last twelve winners returning at double-figure odds – including last year’s 50/1 winner Commander Of Fleet.
5 key trends to consider
- 12/12 winners had won at least twice over hurdles.
- 11/13 winners previously run at Cheltenham.
- 20/21 winners had won in their previous five starts.
- 11/13 winners aged between 5-7.
- 13/15 winners no more than four runs that season.
16:10 Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase – Cl2 (5yo+) 3m6f
Tiger Roll was narrowly denied a record fourth win in this race last season and his conqueror Delta Work is all the rage for a repeat win. It was Gordon Elliott’s fourth win in six seasons and would have been his fifth but for his 2021 suspension.
5 key trends to consider
- 10/12 winners aged 10 or younger – just 1 winner aged younger than 8 ever.
- 18/18 winners had an official rating of 126+.
- 15/18 winners had raced at Cheltenham previously.
- 9/13 winners had run in no more than five cross country races.
- 18/18 winners were from the top nine in the betting.
16:50 Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Chase – (Grade 3) Cl1 (5yo+) 2m1/2f
Another race that it could pay to back an outsider with recent winners including Croco Bay (2019) at 66/1 and Global Citizen (2022) at 28-1! Could we see another big-odds winner this year?
5 key trends to consider
- 11/12 winners rated between 138-152.
- 11/13 winners aged between 6-9.
- 9/10 winners had no more than 4 chase runs that season.
- 15/18 winners had run at Cheltenham Festival before.
- 7/8 winners hadn’t raced in the last 50 days before the race.
17:30 Weatherbys Champion Bumper – (Grade 1) Cl1 (4-6yo) 2m1/2f
Willie Mullins has won four of the last five renewals – including last year’s winner Facile Vega. He will be seeking an incredible thirteenth win in the race this year but must overcome John Kiely’s impressive Leopardstown winner A Dream To Share.
5 key trends to consider
- 12/12 winners were rated 118 or higher.
- 12/12 winners had at least one run and one win in the season.
- 12/13 winners aged 5 or 6.
- 6/7 winners had raced within 40 days of the race.
- 9/11 winners were Irish trained.
Cheltenham Day 2 Betting Tips
There will be plenty of discussions on which is the right race for Gaelic Warrior, one of several entries for Willie Mullins. The horse was beaten in a thriller for the Fred Winter Hurdle last year but could recoup losses in his chosen engagement. Stable companion Impaire Et Passe certainly looked the part at Punchestown in January while Hermes Allen will put the Challow Hurdle form to the test for Paul Nicholls.
The Brown Advisory Chase (formerly RSA Chase) sees Gordon Elliott’s Gerri Colombe as a potential Cheltenham race tips for Wednesday banker. He could be joined by stable companion Mighty Potter but don’t rule out a British-trained winner in the shape of Thyme Hill. He was a high class hurdler and there was a lot to like about his win in the Kauto Star Novices’ Chase.
There are some intriguing entries for the Coral Cup including Winter Fog, fourth in the Pertemps Network Final last year when trained by Emmet Mullins. He is now in the care of Willie Mullins and made a winning start for his new yard at Leopardstown in December. Benson is another horse to have benefitted from a change of scenery, winning the valuable Morebattle Hurdle at Kelso for Sandy Thomson. He will scoop a £100,000 bonus for connections if winning any race at the Cheltenham Festival.
Delta Work will be popular in the Glenfarclas Cross Country and his experience over these unique fences sets him apart from the field. His biggest danger could come from his own stable if Gordon Elliott elects to run Gold Cup and Grand National entry Galvin.
It is highly unusual for a Betfair Hurdle winner to run over fences at Cheltenham next time but that is a possibility for Aucunrisque in the Grand Annual. This would be only his fourth start over fences but that includes finishing runner-up in the Grade 2 Wayward Lad Novices’ Chase at Kempton.
Willie Mullins and Gordon Elliott have traded blows in recent Champion Bumper renewals and both have numerous entries for a typically hotly contested finale to the second day. It’s For Me would certainly be among the more fancied Mullins runners.
Cheltenham Free Bets For Wednesday
As is usually the case at the Cheltenham Festival there’s sure to be plenty of Cheltenham free bets for Wednesday for punters to make use of, offering opportunities to turn a profit for little outlay. Open a new account during the Festival with William Hill Bet £10 get £30 in free bets.
Most leading bookmakers will have a number of free bets and offers running throughout the biggest week of the National Hunt season. The RacingTips.com team will be busy throughout all four days of the Festival providing readers and punters with their Cheltenham Festival day 2 tips as well as highlighting the best Cheltenham free bet offers and concessions available.
Other days at Cheltenham Festival
It’s not all about Day 2 at Cheltenham Festival – You can check out our tips for the other days here: