After watching Ici La Reine win her second mares' bumper at Newcastle on Saturday, trainer Warren Greatrex has his eye on some lucrative spring targets, with April trips to Aintree and Cheltenham on the cards.
In January Ici La Reine had made light work of her debut in another mares' bumper at the same venue, defeating eight rivals when winning by an easy six and a half lengths.
The victory earnt her a penalty when returning to Newcastle on Saturday for a similar contest, but the bay was able to overcome that hindrance and a less than ideal passage through the race to prevail by a neck.
The back-to-back successes have brought into focus mares' bumper contests at Aintree and Cheltenham in April, where Greatrex is hopeful a higher calibre of race will bring about more improvement.
"It was nice to win again. It was a bit of a muddling race and she did a lot wrong, but thankfully the result went the right way," said Greatrex.
"It was a typical second run, she was a bit lit up before in the paddock and then in the race she had a bit of cover but unfortunately that horse went wrong.
"She then had a bit too much daylight and was a bit keen and it ended up in a sprint.
"She would be a very strong stayer, I like horses that keep going and she did her best work at the end."
Ici Le Reine is out of Reine Angevine, whose dam Alliance Royale also produced Greatrex's much-loved mare La Bague Au Roi – winner of 14 contests including two Grade Ones, and her trainer has high hopes for the filly's spring potential.
He said: "With her winning two, I think she's potentially better than we've seen. We'll look at Aintree and if not Aintree, there is a Cheltenham bumper in April as well.
"I think she'll be better in a better race where they go a better gallop. She shows all the signs that she's got a bright future."
"She has a lot of the same traits as La Bague Au Roi and if she's half as good as her, I'll be very happy," he said.
"I think I've had four horses from the owners over the years and we've trained them over 20 winners. It's been good to find another one and fingers crossed she can be a really good one at that."
