Leopardstown tips: Johnny Ward's best bets for day two of the DRF

Day two of the 2024 Dublin Racing Festival is upon us, and Sunday appears more punter-friendly than day one.

Again, one of the themes is whether you back a Willie Mullins-trained favourite, or oppose it – probably with a stablemate.

After this weekend, too, the Cheltenham Festival picture will look a lot clearer. Be lucky.

A tricky race, but Willie Mullins has only one runner in the race that honours his father. With a yard strike-rate nearing 50 per cent over the past week, it would be pretty bizarre if his only runner here could not go pretty close. 

Risk Belle was favourite in the race last year when she failed to complete, but she has plenty of class in this company.

Paul Townend chose this horse over the other Willie Mullins-trained runners in the Paddy Power Future Champions Novice Hurdle at Leopardstown over Christmas, despite Predators Gold being in the race. 

The ground would have been a write-off for him there, so he's well worth persevering with on the back of the stylish, and easy, maiden hurdle victory he recorded on his previous outing when subsequent winner Cleatus Poolaw was a long way back in second.

This eight-year-old, perhaps aside from the winner, Meetingofthewaters, was the last one off the bridle in the Paddy Power Chase over further, and on more testing ground, last time out.

He's the mount of Paul Townend here, and looks a solid each-way contender.

The bet of the weekend, in my opinion. He took the wide route here last time out to avoid trouble, yet still won easily, which was a hell of an effort in such a big field with no handicap experience.

If he was from a bigger yard, he'd be a good bit shorter here, but the stable is having a remarkably good campaign, and he has surely been laid out for this.