Turners Novices Hurdle Betting Preview – Cheltenham Day 2 Tips (2025)

The Turners Novices Hurdle is the opening race on Day 2 of the 2025 Cheltenham Festival and 11 runners have been declared for one of the biggest horse racing betting heats of the season.

We’ve known the early entries for the Turners Novices Hurdle for some time now but decisions have been made and all eyes will be on Prestbury Park on Wednesday afternoon.

Here, we look at some of the leading players in the Cheltenham odds for this year’s race, with a Turners Novices Hurdle selection ahead of the 2025 renewal.

The dominant duo in the Turners Novices’ Hurdle market are the Willie Mullins-trained Final Demand and Dan Skelton’s The New Lion, with the betting suggesting that the others are simply making up the numbers.

As we well know, horseracing doesn’t quite work like that, so there are definitely alternative runners that merit consideration in this field.

In regard to the top two, it’s easy to see why they are both popular with punters. Final Demand was an impressive winner in his sole point-to-point at Lingstown in March last year, and since transferring to Closutton, he not only shone on his rules debut at Limerick but also at the Dublin Racing Festival, when dominating a Grade One Novice Hurdle like it was a normal everyday task.

The New Lion is unbeaten in a bumper and three hurdle races, including the Grade One Challow at Newbury. He made such an impression that day that leading owner JP McManus splashed out an undisclosed sum to add him to his Cheltenham Festival squad.

The Nigel Twiston-Davies yard have not deviated from the plan to target the Turners Novices’ Hurdle at the Festival with Potters Charm and the six-year-old is trading around the 12/1 mark in our betting.

Potters Charm boasted a 5-5 record under rules after landing the William Hill Formby Novices’ Hurdle on Boxing Day, but blotted his copybook a month later when losing to Sixmilebridge at Cheltenham after pulling too hard, too early.

Fergal O’Brien’s Sixmilebridge reopposes and the pair of them are eagerly waiting in the wings should the big two falter.

Gordon Elliott’s THE YELLOW CLAY could well be the runner that upsets the big two in the Turners.

The six-year-old took his record over jumps to four from four with a decisive victory in the Grade 1 Lawlor’s of Naas Novice Hurdle and continues to get better by the race.

Speaking about his decision to run The Yellow Clay in this race, Elliott said: “Plenty are saying The Yellow Clay should run in the Albert Bartlett but I don’t think he’s as slow as people make out.

“I think two and a half miles is his trip. Final Demand looked very good and we’ve a bit of a line on the form with Wingmen through him and I think The Yellow Clay is a better horse than Wingmen.”

If you’re looking for an outsider at odds of 20/1 or more then the Willie Mullins-trained Kaid d’Authie may well be your candidate.

After Kaid d’Authie impressed to win the Savills Maiden Hurdle at Leopardstown, there was excitement in the camp for what might be on the horizon. However a 27½ length thumping by Kopek Des Bordes ensued, but given the engine on that horse, that could happen to any opponent.

With no horses of that calibre in this 2m5f affair, there’s every chance of a better showing at decent odds.

SELECTION: THE YELLOW CLAY