Dermot Weld, so often the trainer to follow at Galway Races, won the Colm Quinn BMW Mile Handicap with Coeur D’Or at odds of 14/1.
Ridden by Chris Hayes, the son of Dubawi held off the late fast finishing No More Porter (18/1, jockey Jamie Powell), with Robbie Colgan on Dunum a further three-quarters of a length back in third.
Thriller! 😱
No More Porter was a willing nemesis but Coeur D'Or (14-1) would not be denied in the Colm Quinn BMW Mile Handicap – the feature race on day two of the @Galway_Races Festival 👀
Dermot Weld's lightly-raced seven-year-old absolutely flies home for @chrishayes24 🚀 pic.twitter.com/bNpdmbreFB
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) August 1, 2023
The win was the first part of a double for Weld and Hayes, who took the Caulfield Industrial Irish EBF Maiden with the Moyglare Stud Farm-owned Livio Milo (5/2).
Willie Mullins, who achieved an opening night double on Monday, matched the achievement this evening when taking the opening two races on the card.
The least fancied of the Mullins runners in the betting market, Arctic Fly (12/1), won the Colm Quinn BMW Novice Hurdle for rider Seán O’Keeffe, while the 1/4f Sharjah, a six-time Grade 1-winning hurdler, made a successful chasing debut – at the age of 10 – in the Latin Quarter Beginners Chase under Paul Townend.
Six-time Grade One-winning hurdler Sharjah (1-4) makes no mistake on his chasing debut @Galway_Races 👀
He might now be 10 years old, but there is surely much more to come from @WillieMullinsNH's fabulous stable stalwart on this evidence … pic.twitter.com/rvZR68UQNK
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) August 1, 2023
The good form of trainer Paddy Twomey and rider Billy Lee continued, thanks to Purple Lily (5/2f) in the Colm Quinn BMW Irish EBF (Fillies) Maiden.
Oh, that looked a good race 📓
Purple Lily (Calyx) improved with every stride in the seven-furlong fillies' maiden @Galway_Races to deny fellow debutante Tannola by a neck 👀@paddytwomey | @wjlee24786 pic.twitter.com/wSoYekIIiW
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) August 1, 2023
The caulfieldindustrial.com Handicap went the way of the Andrew Slattery-trained 7/2f Bells On Her Toes, while the Tuesday finale was won by the Make Believe gelding Complete Fiction (4/1jf) for Jarlath Fahy and Colin Keane.
