A return to hurdles and first-time blinkers saw Wade Out (18-1) come back to his best as landed the £75,000 William Hill Handicap Hurdle over an extended three miles on Grand National Day at Aintree.

Partnered by Gavin Sheehan, the seven-year-old came home eight and a half lengths to the good over Eagle Fang (28-1).

Successful trainer Olly Murphy said: Olly Murphy: “I’ve always known he had loads of ability. I thought he would win the National Hunt Chase. We’ve come back over smaller obstacles, popped a set of blinkers on him and he’s turned a big competitive handicap hurdle field into a rout. It didn’t surprise me that he won, but the fashion in which he won did.

“I’d say we’d definitely stay over the smaller obstacles now. He’s not over-big - I know he won a point-to-point and won round Cheltenham in November, but it is probably a big effort for him, in fairness. That was great, and it’s great training winners for people like that (Sir Alex Ferguson, Ged Mason, Lisa Hales and Fred/Peter Done) as well. You want to have winners at places like this - I huffed and puffed yesterday and couldn’t get anywhere near, but that was great today.

“I’m not shocked. I said to my assistant after a circuit, ‘This lad’s going to run well today’, he was just on a going day. It’s important, when you get to being a yard the size of mine, that you have winners at meetings like this, and I’m chuffed to bits.”

The winning jockey Gavin Sheehan, returning from suspension, said: “It’s a nice way to come back. It’s been a long two weeks, but I’ve come back fresh as well, which is nice. I thought I’d be pushing this lad for most of the race to be honest, but he travelled like a dream. He jumped great and everything went smooth, every time I wanted him he was there underneath me with his jumping. He was great and as you can see I couldn’t pull him up!

“It’s great (to win on return), you always want to come back with a winner like that because you get straight into it. I haven’t really ridden out, I’ve tried to do as much exercise since last Tuesday really, the more I was doing the more hungry I was getting. I just want to say thanks to Olly (Murphy), the owners and the team, they’ve done a great job with this lad. It was a good call to go back over hurdles.”

On his Randox Grand National mount The Real Whacker, Mullins added: “I’ve had great days with him and if you’re not in you can’t win. I’m going in there with a horse that’s won the Brown Advisory (at the Cheltenham Festival) and the Charlie Hall (at Wetherby). He’s a good horse and he’s in great form this year and I’m delighted to be back on board and I’m certainly going in with confidence. I think people are (overlooking him), he’s a lovely horse and it doesn’t bother me. They can put their money on or not.”

Tom Bannon, representing trainer William Durkan, said of runner-up Eagle Fang: “I thought for a minute we were going to do it again (after Friday’s last-race winner Laafi), but he’s run a cracker. After running well here he’ll probably go to France now for another handicap at the big meeting in Paris.

“He tried fences but got a bit of a fright the second time and didn’t return as well, so I said we’d switch back and change things up. He’d been working well and it was a great run in the first-time visor, but we just bumped into a well-handicapped horse."