BAGS Groove announced his arrival on chasing’s big stage with a comfortable success in the Grade 2 Rising Stars Novices’ Chase at Wincanton, following up a win at Ffos Las. He has only been out of the first two on three occasions in 15 career starts and won a bumper over a mile and five furlongs in England before notching up four victories over hurdles.

The seven-year-old son of Oscar (Sadler’s Wells) has now won more than twice the £40,000 he cost his trainer Harry Fry as a three-year-old store at Doncaster, and that represented a nice profit on the €17,000 foal price he realised at Tattersalls Ireland.