Joe’s best horse racing for the Dublin Racing Festival 2026 Day 2 betting tips

Jan 31, 2026 - 17:30

Sunday at the Dublin Racing Festival is where the really big betting races come into play at Leopardstown, with top-class Grade 1 action and huge Cheltenham Festival clues on the table.

The Irish Champion Hurdle and Irish Gold Cup take centre stage and there’s real value to be had for punters who get on the right horses early.

Top Dublin Racing Festival Day 2 offers

Dublin Racing Festival Day 1 (Sunday) tips

12.40 Cousin Kate – 6/1 each way with Paddy Power
1.10 Final Demand – 2/5 with Betfred
1.40 Ballyfad – 10/3 with Sky Bet
2.10 Marine Nationale – 9/4 with Bet Victor NEXT BEST
2.45 Ballybawn Belter – 16/1 each way 16/1 with Paddy Power
3.20 Lossiemouth – 11/10 with QuinnBet NAP
3.52 I Started A Joke – 3/1 with bet365
4.27 Wonderful Everyday – 10/3 each way with BoyleSports

*odds provided are correct at the time of writing and are subject to change.

Joe’s best horse racing betting tips for Dublin Racing Festival Day 1 on Saturday 31th January

Find my top tips for today’s racing with odds from the best horse racing bookies below:

12.40 Irish Stallion Farms EBF Paddy And Maureen Mullins Mares Handicap Hurdle (Listed) 2m2f

10 of the last 12 winners were aged 6 or older
3 of the last 12 winners were favourites
10 of the last 12 winners carried 10 stone 12lb or less
10 of the last 12 winners were rated 106 or higher

Fergal O’Brien sends over Siog Geal for the Leopardstown opener on Sunday and she is likely to be popular but COUSIN KATE makes more appeal.

She has only had 7 career starts and arrives here on a hat-trick after winning at Limerick and then at Cork last time. Her form is progressive and she is likeable and worth keeping on side.

Obviously a wide open race so plenty of dangers probably headed by Shoda who is bred to keeping improving with age and experience. She was third behind Ballyfad here last month and again ran well when third at Clonmel.

If she improves again she should be bang there. Adrienne and True Testimony also made my shortlist but you could easily back 3 or 4 in this.

Bet on COUSIN KATE each way at 6/1 with Paddy Power

1.10 Ladbrokes Novice Chase (Grade 1) 2m5f107y

8 of the last 12 winners were aged 7 or 8
8 of the last 12 winners were favourites
8 of the last 12 winners won on their last run before
8 of the last 12 winners were rated 148 or higher

Kaid D’authie bumped into Kitzbuhel on chase debut at Punchestown and then won impressively at Fairyhouse. He is clearly a nice prospect but even so impossible to oppose FINAL DEMAND here.

He has won both starts emphatically over fences and looks like he could go right to the top. He was obviously a smart hurdler finishing third behind The New Lion in the Supreme before winning at Punchestown and promises to do even better over fences. I expect him to win this en route to the Cheltenham Festival.

Kaid D’authie is the obvious danger and should chase the selection home. Jimmy Du Seuil was disappointing at Limerick behind the favourite but did look promising beating The Big Westerner at Fairyhouse so would have a squeak if bouncing back but probably playing for second at best.

Bet on FINAL DEMAND to win at 2/5 with Betfred

1.40 Tattersalls Ireland Novice Hurdle (Grade 1) 2m

10 of the last 12 winners were aged 5 or 6
6 of the last 12 winners were favourites or joint favourites
9 of the last 12 winners were in the top 3 in the betting
6 of the last 12 winners were rated 140 or higher (6/12 didn’t have a rating)

Kopek Des Bordes won this race last year en route to winning the Supreme at the Cheltenham Festival so hopefully we see one or two promising types again.

BALLYFAD is yet to taste defeat having won both starts in bumpers and then impressing thrashing Leader D’allier on hurdles debut over C&D last month. That form has been franked since and he is open to further improvement so I’m expecting another exciting performance.

Talk The Talk fell at the last here when looking to win again last month. He clearly has plenty of talent and looks a danger to all if putting in a clear round. King Rasko Grey won on hurdles debut at Limerick and if taking another sizeable step forward is another one expected to get competitive at least.

Bet on BALLYFAD to win at 10/3 with Sky Bet

2.10 Ladbrokes Dublin Chase (Grade 1) 2m1f

6 of the last 8 winners were aged 7 or 8
6 of the last 8 winners were favourites or joint favourites
4 of the last 8 winners won on their last run before
6 of the last 8 winners were rated 160 or higher

Trainer Barry Connell has made it no secret how much he rates MARINE NATIONALE and I do think he will be extremely hard to beat here. He ended last season firmly on the up winning the Champion Chase at the Festival before backing that up at Punchestown.

He made a shocking early error at the second flight on return and only went down half a length at the line. I do think that cost him and if he jumps better here he should gain revenge on Solness and come out on top.

Majborough was third that day and his jumping continues to let him down. If he does manage to jump slicker he would obviously be a big threat to the selection as the engine is there for all to see. Energumene isn’t getting any younger and would have to roll back the years to land a blow in this as it looks a really good renewal.

Bet on MARINE NATIONALE to win at 9/4 with Bet Victor

2.45 O’Driscolls Irish Whiskey Leopardstown Handicap Chase (Grade 3) 2m5f107y

8 of the last 12 winners were aged between 7 and 9
5 of the last 12 winners were in the top 3 in the betting
0 of the last 12 winners won on their last run before
9 of the last 12 winners were rated between 129 and 140

Quite a few made the shortlist here as you can imagine but the one I want to play at a juicy each way price is BALLYBAWN BELTER. This mare had been catching the eye all season before bolting up by 11 lengths at Limerick last month.

This step back up in trip will help and despite the 7lb rise I can see this big field scenario suiting and I think she’ll go close.

Croke Park needs to show more but did appeal at a massive price if you wanted a big each way saver. Backmersackme has the profile to run well in a race like this despite now showing a great deal here last month.

He could easily be well handicapped off his current mark. Others to note include Kim Roque who will likely go off favourite and Kinturk Kalanisi as well.

Bet on BALLYBAWN BELTER each way at 16/1 with Paddy Power

3.20 Timeless Sash Windows Irish Champion Hurdle (Grade 1) 2m

10 of the last 12 winners were aged between 6 and 8
10 of the last 12 winners were favourites or joint favourites
10 of the last 12 winners won on their last run before
12 of the last 12 winners were rated 158 or higher

I’m probably one of the biggest LOSSIEMOUTH fans you’ll find so it was great to see her find more and fend off Brighterdaysahead in the December Hurdle here last month.

Somehow I still feel like she is underrated and I’m amazed some people don’t think she’ll confirm that form. I can actually see her beating Brighterdaysahead by further here as she tends to get better as the season goes on and her fitness improves. She is a class act and should win this en route to the Cheltenham Festival.

The market does look to have it spot on with Anzadam probably best of the rest. He looked awkward in the finish in the Fighting Fifth and then pulled his chance away behind the selection last month. If he settles better he could see out the race better but has enough to prove at present.

Bet on LOSSIEMOUTH to win at 11/10 with QuinnBet

3.52 Padel At Leopardstown Golf Launching Spring 2026 Handicap Hurdle (Listed) 2m

9 of the last 12 winners were aged between 6 and 8
4 of the last 12 winners were in the top 3 in the betting
4 of the last 12 winners won on their last run before
9 of the last 12 winners were rated between 120 and 131

Sean Bowen was initially coming over for Haiti Couleurs but with that rival now out he is still making the trip and I STARTED A JOKE does look to be the best of them.

This horse landed a gamble bolting up by 8 and a half lengths at Punchestown latest and if in that sort of form again here now handicapping could easily be the one to beat. He is unexposed so there is plenty to like.

A Dream To Share was a good third at Punchestown last month and if building on that could threaten. He was obviously very smart in bumpers and is yet to reach the same heights over hurdles. Bunting and Zillow are both each way prospects in another fiercely competitive race.

Bet on I STARTED A JOKE to win at 3/1 with bet365

4.27 Coolmore N.H. Sires Los Angeles Irish EBF Mares I.N.H. Flat Race (Grade 2) 2m

8 of the last 8 winners were aged 5 or 6
2 of the last 8 winners were in the top 3 in the betting
7 of the last 8 winners won on their last run before
8 of the last 8 winners had at least 1 win that season

Another bumper to close out and again no strong opinion but WONDERFUL EVERYDAY impressed winning on debut at Punchestown and she had excuses when disappointing at Huntingdon. If you put a line through that she would have a big chance of getting involved here.

Celestial Tune is on a hat-trick and if improving again could be the danger. Brosna Shine won well at Fairyhouse and is another one in with a chance.

Bet on WONDERFUL EVERYDAY each way at 10/3 with BoyleSports

My top tip for Dublin Racing Festival on Sunday

I can’t wait to see FINAL DEMAND again and I think he can remain unbeaten over fences. MARINE NATIONALE should gain his revenge if avoiding mistakes and LOSSIEMOUTH is strongly fancied to confirm recent form over Brighterdaysahead.

Bet a Win Treble on FINAL DEMAND, MARINE NATIONALE and LOSSIEMOUTH at 7/1 with bet365

About the author

Joe Norris

I’m Joe Norris, co-founder and Director of GetYourTipsOut (GYTO), which I launched in 2009 to provide daily sports betting tips, with the main focus on horse racing. Over the years, I’ve earned a reputation for offering reliable and profitable tips, which led to being named “Best Sports Betting Tipster” in 2023. Alongside my work at GYTO, I also contribute predictions to platforms like Oddschecker, allowing me to share my insights with a wide community of sports enthusiasts and bettors.

Find Joe on X: @JoeNorrisGYTO

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