'She needs to take on the boys' - Grade 1 aim revealed for Diva Luna after Lady Godiva success

Diva Luna may have looked good on paper last season but Ben Pauling believes best is still yet to come as he targets the Grade 1 Scilly Isles for his exciting novice chaser.

The six-year-old, who finished third in the Mares' Novices' Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival last season, is unbeaten over fences this term after securing her second Listed win on the bounce when making all in a field of three in the feature Lady Godiva chase. 

While the mare posted some decent results last season, Pauling was not too impressed with his Grade 2 bumper winner and believes she has arrived this season in her best form, and he now plans to send her into Grade 1 company for the second time in her career at Sandown next month. 

The trainer said: "Last season was a write off from start to finish. I know it looked like she had some good results but we knew what she was capable of, it was nowhere near that, she wasn't herself. We struggled to get her right all of last season and what she did was on raw ability, not because she was in the best of form.

"Now she has a couple of Listed chase wins under her belt, I think she needs to step into some open company and take on the boys, so I'm looking towards the Scilly Isles [on January 31] as her next target.

"There wasn't a lot of horses in this race today but you couldn't be happier with what she did. She made one mistake, which is no bad thing, she has to learn. She's come back this season totally different and back to her best."

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