BY BROCK SHERIDAN

Trainer Patrick Biancone reports that Florida-bred Lennilu arrived safely at Charlie Fellowes’ Bedford Lodge Stables in Newmarket Wednesday after a long trip from her base in South Florida. Owned by Amy Dunne, Caitlin Dunne, Brenda Miley, Jean Wilkinson, Hoffman Family Racing LLC, Tranquility Lake Farms LLC, Maury Harrington and Christopher K. Harrington, Lennilu is scheduled to run in the £150,000 (US$204,000) Queen Mary (Group 2), a five-furlong test for 2-year-old fillies at Royal Ascot next Wednesday, June 18.

“Newmarket is like Chantilly. It’s the meca of English racing. My friend Luca Cumani was here. The stables are beautiful and the people are very nice.”

Biancone, who traveled with the 2-year-old daughter of Pleasant Acres Stallions’ Leinster, said immigration and travel time made for a long trip but that Lennilu has handled the trip with little trouble.

“She left Miami last night and arrived very good this morning,” Biancone said to Wire to Wire Thursday afternoon. “She had a good relaxing day, walking and going to the round pen.”

Lennilu and Biancone flew from Miami International Airport to Amsterdam where they had to pass through customs for the first time.

“It’s a long way with a lot of standing and waiting for immigration,” Biancone said. “We had to be at Miami airport five hours before the flight for immigration. Then we arrived in Amsterdam and had to wait six to seven hours… to pass immigration. Then we took the bullet train under the [English] channel to Dover and had to wait two or three hours for a new immigration inspection.

“But each station, she got to relax and she wasn’t anxious in her box stall. So she did that very good. She would lay down and sleep. She was a really good girl.”

Biancone said Lennilu will resume training Friday morning.

“Like me, she was a bit tired but she was really happy this morning,” Biancone said.  “And we’ve had a nice easy day with beautiful weather.”

Biancone noted that this was a long trip, but he learned early that Lennilu was comfortable on the road. He sent her to Keeneland from South Florida for her first race on April 6 and she responded with a length victory in a four-and-a-half-furlong maiden special weight on the main track. 

 

“We found out when we went to Keeneland for her first out that she was a very good traveler. It was 17 hours on the van to go to Keeneland and 17 hours on the van to come back. And she was never bothered by that. So after that, we said she is good enough to travel. She’s travels really well. It seems far. From Amsterdam to Newmarket it was six hours. But in America, we’re used to it. From Miami to Ocala it’s five hours and we van horses from one track to another – sometimes 17 to 24 hours.”

Biancone said there will be no real strategy with the Queen Mary being run on the straight course but is hoping Lennilu draws near some of the top runners. 

“With the post position, it is great to be with the runners,” he said. “The best position is to be closest to the other ones with a chance.

“But she is fast. She’s easy. She is going to be in front. I don’t want to be too confident but as long as she repeats what she has done so far, I think we should have a good chance.

“Ascot is a special place for every trainer in the world, especially the Royal meeting. I’ve been lucky in my life to have good horses and she’s one of them. We’re very happy.”

Biancone said Luis Saez is scheduled to fly to Great Britain for the return mount. He rode her at Keeneland and again when she won the $100,000 Royal Palm Juvenile Fillies on the Gulfstream Park turf on May 10. In addition to the purse, Lennilu received a berth into one of six stakes for juvenile at Royal Ascot plus a $25,000 travel stipend.

“The $25,000 travel voucher is emmense, especially for the owners who pay the bills,” Biancone said. “It doesn’t cover the whole cost because it’s very expensive to ship the horses over here. But it’s such a good incentive.”

 

Bred in Florida by Helen and Joseph Barbazon, Lennilu has earned $81,615 in her two starts. Several of the British bookmakers have her listed as the second choice at 5-1. 

The K.R. Burke-trained Zelaina, a daughter of Mehmas (Ire) and winner of her only start at Nottingham on June 4, is the 7-4 favorite in most of the books.

“And now we have a few more days to go and hopefully she trains well and here we are,” Biancone said. “I hope she [successfully] carries the flag of Florida. It would be wonderful if a Florida-bred can show to the world how good the Florida-bred horses are.”

–This story has been updated on June 13

Return to the June 12 issue of Wire to Wire