Wathnan Racing’s Leovanni won the Queen Mary Stakes (Group 2) at the Royal Ascot on Wednesday.
Ridden by James Doyle and trained by Karl Burke, Leovanni broke smartly from stall 10 and raced prominently among a group of horses on the far side before drawing clear to win the five-furlong £150,000 contest by a length and three quarters. The filly made a winning debut at Nottingham last month.
Mighty Eriu finished strongly up the stands’ rail to take second, while Maw Lam, who made a slow start, came through for third, a further neck behind. The heavily backed favourite Kassaya was left looking for a gap on the stands’ side and eventually finished twelfth. Doyle was quick to share the credit after the victory – his 19th Royal Ascot winner.
“It’s been a lot of work from everyone behind the scenes, it’s easy for me just riding them, but a lot of work has been put in by Richard Brown (racing adviser to Wathnan Racing) and his whole team,” he said. He added: “I won this race before on a filly called Rizeena for Clive Britain (2013) and I would say this filly has all the class that she had. The raw speed, the ability to relax, the temperament, being versatile with the ground. There is a lot to look forward to with her.”For trainer Burke it was his second Queen Mary Stakes victory in three years in the opener.
“I watched it live, so I would love to see a replay of it. From watching it live, it looked very smooth. James said that Leovanni travelled beautifully,” Burke said.