TAURUS BAY UPSETS ODDS-ON NO DRAMA THIS END IN RISING STARS AT AINTREE

Taurus Bay sprang a 13/2 surprise in Saturday's Grade 2 Boodles Rising Stars Novices' Chase at Aintree, battling on by a length and a quarter for trainer Ben Pauling as odds-on favourite No Drama This End trailed home last of the four runners.

Ridden by Ben Jones, Taurus Bay had to work hard to fend off the Dan Skelton-trained Talk To The Man (100/30), with Favour And Fortune (11/2) taking third in a contest reduced by two non-runners.

The novice chase, usually a fixture of Wincanton's Badger Beers meeting, was one of the features moved to Merseyside after the West Country fixtures fell victim to firm ground, and it delivered a result few had predicted.

A setback for Nicholls

No Drama This End had been sent off the 8/11 favourite for Paul Nicholls and Sam Twiston-Davies, but the market leader weakened after the second-last fence and finished ten and a half lengths adrift of the winner.

The disappointing effort came a day after Nicholls had moved closer to Martin Pipe's training record with Haldon Gold Cup winner Rubaud, and leaves connections with questions to answer about where the novice goes next.

Scilly Isles on the radar

For Pauling and owners Harry Redknapp and Geoff Hill, this was a performance full of promise. The winner's determination in the closing stages was what most impressed his trainer.

"I was amazed he dug in," said Pauling, who indicated that the Grade 1 Scilly Isles Novices' Chase at Sandown is a likely target for the winner.

Pauling added that he is not in a hurry to step Taurus Bay up in trip, preferring to see how the novice develops over the distances he has already shown he can handle. With a Grade 2 success now on his record, he has given his team plenty to look forward to through the winter.

Talk To The Man also emerges with credit from his runner-up effort, while the field's small size means there may yet be more to come from all concerned as the novice chasing season gathers pace.