BY BROCK SHERIDAN

Odds makers have made the Florida-bred Lennilu the 5-1 second choice on the morning line for Wednesday’s Group 2 Queen Mary at Royal Ascot as the Patrick Biancone-trained filly vies for her third career win in as many starts. First run in 1921, the US$187,500 Queen Mary is the first major race of the year for 2-year-old fillies on the British racing calendar and has attracted 25 runners who will race a straight five furlongs on the turf.

Post time for the Queen Mary is 9:30 a.m. EST.

Lennilu earned an invitation plus a $25,000 travel stipend to the Queen Mary as a result of her nearly four-length victory in the $100,000 Royal Palm Juvenile Fillies, run at five furlongs on the turf at Gulfstream Park on May 10. She initially raced just off the Wesley Ward-trained Satisfied Mind before taking over on the turn and drawing off in the stretch with jockey Luis Saez aboard. Saez, who also rode Lennilu in her one-length maiden score going four-and-a-half furlongs in the slop at Keeneland on April 6, travels to Great Britian to ride the gray or roan filly.

 

“She is a very nice filly. At Keeneland she won a maiden [race] easily,” Biancone said. “Then we decided to prepare her for hopefully coming here to run in the Queen Mary with the prep race in Florida at Gulfstream and she won easily.”

 

Lennilu arrived in Great Britian last Wednesday from Florida after flying from Miami to Amsterdam then taking the bullet train from Amsterdam to Newmarket. She has since been stabled and trained at Charlie Fellowes’ Bedford Lodge Stables in Newmarket.

“She traveled very well and has been sleeping and eating very well,” Biancone said. “We knew she would travel well because she went 17 hours to Keeneland and 17 [hours] to come back [to South Florida] and she took it very well. She’s not an anxious horse. She is very relaxed. Newmarket is like Chantilly in France. It is the mecca of horse racing in England and I knew [Bedford Lodge] was a very good place to train because my [late] friend Luca Cumani was here. The stalls are beautiful and the people are nice and that is why we decided to come here.

“Royal Ascot is a special place for every trainer in the world. Especially the Royal meeting.”

Lennilu tries to become the second filly to win both the Royal Palm Juvenile Fillies and Queen Mary following the George Weaver-trained Crimson Advocate in 2023. Four other American fillies have won the Queen Mary including Jealous Again (2009), Acapulco (2015), Lady Aurelia (2016) and Campanelle (2020), all trained by Wesley Ward.

“I’ve been lucky all my life to have good horses and she’s one of them,” Biancone said.

Lennilu is by Pleasant Acres Stallions’ leading first crop sire Leinster out of Lulu’s Pom Pom, by Pomeroy. Bred in Florida by Helen and Joseph Barbazon of Morriston, Fla., Lennilu has earned $81,615 for owners Amy Dunne, Caitlin Dunne, Brenda Miley, Jean Wilkinson, Hoffman Family Racing LLC, Tranquility Lake Farms LLC, Maury Harrington and Christopher K. Harrington.

She was a $23,000 purchase by Glencrest Farm at the 2024 Ocala Breeders’ Sales Winter Mixed Sale where she was consigned by Lisa McGreevy’s Abbie Road Farm.
(Lennilu’s OBS Sale Page)

Lennilu has the number 11 saddle cloth.

Favored at 9-5 on the morning line for the Queen Mary is Zelaina (GB) for trainer Karl Burke and owner Wathan Racing. Burke has won two of the last three runnings of the Queen Mary with Dramatised in 2022 and Leovanni last year.

Zelaina won the Priceup Pushes Ebf Maiden Fillies Stakes at Nottingham on June 4 in her only start. The daughter of Mehmas (Fr) out of Atlantic Dreams (GB), by Oasis Dreams (GB) led from the start of the five-furlong contest on the turf to win by two-and-three-quarters lengths with jockey James Doyle.

Doyle rode Leovanni in last year’s Queen Mary and has the return mount on Zelaina. He also won the 2013 Queen Mary on Rizeena.

Zelaina has the number 25 saddle cloth.

Listed at 6-1 on the morning line is True Love (Ire) for trainer Aidan O’Brien, who tries for his first victory in the Queen Mary.

True Love has been second in both her career starts, first behind winner Lady Iman in the Holden Plant Rentals First Flier Stakes going five furlongs on the turf at Curragh on May 5. In her last race on May 17, the daughter of No Nay Never was second to Gstaad in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Maiden at Navan going six furlongs on the turf.

True Love will be ridden by Ryan Moore, who won the Queen Mary on Acapulco. True Love has the number 23 saddle cloth.

Completing the entries are America with jockey Tom Marquand, Caitlin G and rider Kyle McHugh, Oisin Murphy rides Cardiff By The Sea, Come On Eibhlin will have Josephine Gordon in the saddle, Dylan Browne McMonagle has the call on Eskimo Pie, Jason Watson rides Eternal Solace, Flowerhead will have Colin Keane up, Guernsey Lady and jockey John F. Egan, Harry’s Girl with Sean Levey named to ride, Love Olivia with pilot David Egan, Neil Callan will be in the irons on Miss Yechance, Paris Carver has Rossa Ryan taking the assignment, Rivival Power will carry David Allen postward, P. J. McDonald will be aboard Secret Hideaway, Shine On Me will have James McDonald in the saddle, Silvestre De Sousa is named on Social Exclusion, Society Miss with Hector Couch riding, Solana Rose and jockey Daniel Tudhope, Spicy Marg has rider Kieran Shoemark, Staya will be guided by Callum Shepherd and Billy Loughnane rides Viamarie.

Return to the June 17 issue of Wire to Wire