Sharjah and Paul Townend © Photo Healy Racing
Sharjah justified his short price with a polished performance on his chase debut in the Latin Quarter Beginners Chase at Galway, giving Willie Mullins a quick double on the card.
The six-time Grade 1 winning hurdler went to post a 1/4 shot on his first outing over the larger obstacles and the ten-year-old was foot perfect.
Paul Townend tracked the front-running Flaming Moon in the two-mile-two contest before letting his mount dispute at the first fence away from the stands.
Sharjah hit the front four from home and he was clever as he got in a bit tight over the last two. He didn't need to come off the bridle to record an effortless 11-length success over Mars Harper
"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," said Mullins.
"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 1 hurdle and he enjoyed it.
"I imagine he'll stay to winners' races now and he would get nice ground for the Drinmore."
He added:- "It was a nice sight to see himself and Chacun Pour Soi (RTE's on-duty 'pony') combing back in together so it was like a double for Rich (Ricci, owner)."
Townend told RTE afterwards:- “He was brilliant, it was a pleasure to be on his back.
“Every time he seen a fence he attacked it and took them on well. When I was in front he was having a little look and he left me behind at the first in the dip the first time but popped it the next time around. It's a pleasure to ride the likes of him.
“The level he was running to over hurdles, he was going to be hard to beat here. The ground has come up on the better side and a lot was in his favour today.
“I got on him during Covid when Patrick couldn't ride at Cheltenham and we had some good days going back a while. I ride him plenty at home and the likes of him, it's easy to throw your leg over - you just have to steer him. He knows what he's at.
“It wasn't that he lost his way but just that something new could light him up again.”
(Additional reporting by Tom Weekes)
