Can I use airplay2 via Apple TV to connect audio to a receiver in a media cabinet

If the receiver is Airplay 2 capable, you should be able to set that as the audio output of your AppleTV. In that case, it will ignore your TV's speakers and play all AppleTV audio through the receiver's speakers.

More here: Use AirPlay to stream audio and video on Apple TV - Apple Support

There is a wireless audio sync that you can run to help mitigate sync issues. That being said, it is dependent on a number of factors, including your network. I can't guarantee that you won't experience issues. I am not saying that you will, but you'll likely have to give it a shot. The remote should work.

Killerfocus is correct, your system will only work as well as the weakest link. So for example if you have a very strong network that has a good wi-fi signal where the Apple TV and receiver are located but your receiver does not support Airplay 2 then you cannot use AirPlay to the receiver. However if the receiver supports Airplay 2, you have a strong wi-fi signal in the room the system will be setup then you should not have any issues.

As we do not have any specifics about your system then we cannot say without some hesitation your proposed system will work okay.