Idle Talk clears a fence (Getty Images).

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Idle Talk made the most of a straightforward opportunity to land the opening contest at Lingfield this afternoon.

Barry Geraghty, a rare visitor to the Surrey venue, always had the 4-9 favourite to the fore and gradually wound up the pace from the front in the lingfield-racecourse.co.uk Novices' Hurdle.

Theatre did his best to keep tabs on the winner in the home straight, but Idle Talk kept going all the way to the line to record a seven-length verdict.

"We have always thought he could be quite a nice horse and we were pretty disappointed when he was only fourth last time out," said winning trainer Tom George's representative John Brown.

"But that wasn't his true form and we could go for the new three-mile event at Cheltenham now (Brit Insurance Novices' Hurdle)."