Barry Geraghty came out on top in a driving finish in the handicap chase here last night on Our Monty but he had things altogether easier on Wikaala Gordon Elliott's charge having the opposition burnt off from three out on the way to taking the J.J.Burke Subaru Maiden Hurdle by seven lengths.
This 11/10 favourite, equipped with blinkers for the second time, had only one serious market-rival, that one being Truxton King but that grey, having his maiden voyage over flights, disappointed, well beaten in fourth and tired when getting the last obstacle all wrong (eventually finished ninth of the ten finishers).
Elliott said: "It is great for the owner who has a good few horses. He'll go for a four-year-old hurdle on the Monday evening at Galway if the ground is good."
Wikaala won in the Hamdan Al Maktoum silks when in the care of Marcus Tregoning at Beverley in June 2008.
