Coeur D’or swooped late to claim a head verdict in the featured Colm Quinn BMW Mile Handicap on day two of the Galway Festival.

Trained by Dermot Weld and ridden by Chris Hayes, Coeur D’or was a winner on his penultimate run at Leopardstown, but he was allowed to go off a 14-1 shot in the handicap highlight.

The 18-runner contest proved typically competitive and it looked as though Dunum was going to take the win two furlongs out, only for No More Porter to battle his way to the front inside the distance.

However, Hayes had launched Coeur D’or down the outside and he grabbed the lead in the shadow of the post to take the prize in a photo, with Dunum a further three-quarters of a length back in third.

Weld said: “He is a very consistent horse, this was the plan and he delivered. He had been running very consistently all year and is a brave horse.

“I was worried about the ground as he is very effective on a slightly quicker surface. A mile is his trip but he was a very immature horse in his early days and took a long time to come to hand but patience paid dividends.

“He has two great owners in Stephen O’Connor and Mark Phelan and I’m delighted for them.”

Sharjah returned to the scene of one of his finest hours to make a seamless transition to fences in the Latin Quarter Beginners Chase.

Winner of the Galway Hurdle in 2018, he has gone on to become a multiple Grade One scorer, triumphing in the Matheson Hurdle at Leopardstown’s Christmas meeting on four occasions.

He has also been second in two Champion Hurdles so had a clear class edge over his rivals, but he was making his debut over fences at the age of 10.

Always handy under Paul Townend, reunited with him for the first time since the 2021 Champion Hurdle, Sharjah jumped soundly throughout and came clear under no pressure to win by 11 lengths as the 1-4 favourite.

Mullins said: “He was very smooth and jumped like he did at home. Every time I schooled him, he always looked very capable and confident over fences and showed that today. If he wasn’t good, we wouldn’t have gone chasing with him, but he was so natural at home and did today what he has done at home.

“In today’s race he was meeting a lot less competition compared to what he had been meeting over hurdles for the past four or five years – none of those horses had ever run in a Grade One hurdle – and he enjoyed it.

“I imagine he’ll stay to winners’ races now and he would get nice ground for the Drinmore.”

Ado McGuiness is preparing to send a squad of as many as 20 runners to the seven-day Galway Festival.

His team will be led by course specialist Current Option, who is searching for a fourth consecutive win in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF “Ahonoora” Handicap on the final day of the meeting.

The seven-year-old has quality form to his name having won the Concorde Stakes and the Listed Platinum Stakes previously and has registered six victories for connections.

McGuinness said: “This is a Group Three horse, and a Listed winner as well, who’s running in a handicap.

“If you drop a Group Three horse back into a handicap, he’s usually the best horse in the race and usually when you have the best horse in the race they win.

“You very often find Group Three horses running in premier handicaps off top weight and they often win them.

“I’m privileged that I have horses like Current Option who can run in premier handicaps.”

As in previous years, Current Option will once again warm up for his favoured Galway race by running in the Colm Quinn BMW Mile Handicap on the Tuesday beforehand.

“Current Option will run in the big mile race on the Tuesday as well as the race on the Sunday. He was placed in the mile race last year and I’ll take either. I don’t mind which one of them he wins!” McGuinness said.

“He’s quite a fresh and highly-strung horse, so if you just left him for one race he could be very fresh. Usually we target the two races with him.

“We ride him out in a hood most of the time at home. Ruby Walsh was up here a few weeks ago and he couldn’t believe he still rides out in a hood given his age but he is still as enthusiastic as ever.

“He’s in cracking form and my biggest problem I have is to try to hold his form for next two weeks. We’re looking forward to him running and just look at the form he has over there, he just loves the place.”

Saltonstall, Casanova, Sirjack Thomas, No More Porter, Hightimeyouwon, Laugh A Minute, Star Harbour, Half Nutz and Exquisite Acclaim are all pencilled in for the meeting, a fixture both McGuinness and his owners look forward to every season.

“Galway is a place where an ordinary fella can get results,” he explained. “You can have a nice, well-handicapped, horse who can do very well at Galway. An ordinary fella can make a name for himself there.

“The amount of recognition you get when you have a winner during race week at Galway is unbelievable, it’s better than three or four winners at one of the ordinary country tracks. It’s a place where you can make a name for yourself.

“I will have between 15 and 20 for the week, I’d say. You can only win the Lotto with one ticket, but the more tickets you have, the better chance you have of winning. That’s the way I look at it.”