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Royal Palm Juvenile Fillies Winner Slated for Queen Mary

BY GULFSTREAM PARK PRESS OFFICE (Edited)

HALLANDALE BEACH, FL—Undefeated in two career starts, Florida-bred Lennilu has given trainer Patrick Biancone confidence that the gray 2-year-old filly is ready to take on Royal Ascot.

“I think we have the right horse to do that,” Biancone said Wednesday.

Lennilu earned a stakes berth at the Royal Ascot meeting (June 17-21) with her nearly four-length romp in the $100,000 Royal Palm Juvenile Fillies on May 10 at Gulfstream Park.  

The daughter of Pleasant Acres Stallions’ leading freshman sire Leinster had debuted April 6 at Keeneland with a length victory in a four-and-a-half-furlong maiden special weight on dirt. In the five-furlong Royal Palm Juvenile Fillies, in which she prompted the early pace before taking over and drawing clear, Lennilu took to the turf in a big way to earn her trip to England.

“She’s doing good. Everything is going perfectly. She will be leaving the [June 10] for Newmarket and will run June 18 at Ascot,” Biancone said.

Lennilu returned to the work tab at Palm Meadows, Gulfstream’s satellite training facility in Palm Beach County, last Friday with an easy half-mile breeze in preparation for a planned start in the Group 2 Queen Mary on June 18. Like the Royal Palm Juvenile Fillies, the Queen Mary will be contested at five furlongs on turf. She went four furlongs in :49.65 breezing.

Lennilu, who is owned by Amy Dunne, Caitlin Dunne, Brenda Miley, Jean Wilkinson, Hoffman Family Racing LLC, Tranquility Lake Farm LLC, Maury Harrington and Christopher Harrington, will not be accompanied by stablemate Squire to Royal Ascot.

Squire, a son of Leinster who won at first asking April 18 at Gulfstream, finished second in the May 10 Royal Palm Juvenile, in which he dueled for the lead before weakening late.

“Squire, we gave him a break. He wasn’t mature enough mentally to go to Ascot,” Biancone said. “He went back to the farm to relax a little bit for a month and come back.”

Lennilu is out of Lulu’s Pom Pom, by Pomeroy and was bred in Florida by Helen and Joseph Barbazon of Morriston, Fla. An earner of $81,615 from two starts, she was a $23,000 purchase by Glencrest Farm out of the 2024 Ocala Breeders’ Sales Winter Mixed Sale where she was consigned by Lisa McGreevy’s Abbie Road Farm in Sparr, Fla.
(Lennilu’s OBS Sale Page)

Leinster – ©Louise Reinagel

Leinster, a son of Majestic Warrior was a multiple graded-stakes winner on turf who closed out his career with a third-place finish behind winner Glass Slippers (GB) in the 2020 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (G1) at Keeneland and a victory in the 2021 Gulfstream Park Turf Sprint (G3). Biancone said all offspring of Leinster have one thing in common.

“They’re all fast,” he said.

Leinster is also represented by the Biancone-trained Emerald Ember, who lost his recent debut by a nose; and the Jose D’Angelo-trained Monster, who graduated in his turf debut last week by nine lengths for Arindel.

Leinster appears next on the long list of Florida stallions that have benefited from local breeders making Florida a launchpad for nationally successful sires.

Through Wednesday, Leinster leads all first crop sires in North American by progeny earnings with $219,426 from his three winners in six starters from only 21 named foals. He is currently well ahead of Kentucky-based stallions Rock Your World ($79,965) and Yaupon ($43,965) in second and third respectively.

Return to the May 29 issue of Wire to Wire