Leovanni after her Queen Mary victory (Megan Coggin)
Ascot Racecourse Press Release
After some near misses on the opening day of Royal Ascot, Wathnan Racing gained a first success at this year’s meeting with Leovanni in the G2 Queen Mary Stakes.
Ridden by James Doyle, Leovanni (22/1) broke smartly from stall 10 and raced prominently among a group of horses on the far side before drawing clear to win by a length and three quarters.
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 7/2 favourite Kassaya was left looking for a gap on the stands’ side and eventually finished twelfth.
For winning trainer Karl Burke this was a welcome change of fortune after his strongly fancied Andesite was withdrawn yesterday morning before the G2 Coventry Stakes.
The Emir of Qatar’s bloodstock advisor Richard Brown bought the winning filly for £190,000 in April at Goffs Breeze-Up Sale in Doncaster and she made a winning debut for Burke at Nottingham a fortnight ago.
Burke said: “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.
“She’s got a fantastic mind, this filly. Not just for a two-year-old – for a breeze-up two-year-old she’s unbelievable. So relaxed and that’s all credit going forward – that will be a great help to her. I am sure she’ll stay six furlongs.
Reflecting on this being a significant win for Wathnan Racing, he added: “For sure. I know Richard Brown and the team – they have done fantastically well. I know they’ve paid a lot of money, but that just adds more pressure. So to get one result is great, and hopefully this is not the last of the meeting.”
Doyle said: “I think anytime you get a winner early on in the week, in any normal year, it’s quite nice. But especially to do it this year. We know there’s a lot of work that’s been put in behind the scenes at Wathnan Racing to get a select group of horses that are targeted for this meeting, so the pressure is on to perform. To get a winner early on in the week can only help.
“I was pleased with Leovanni on debut – she won like a potentially smart filly but it’s so hard to tell. Look at yesterday, I had the choice of three in the Coventry Stakes and the one I picked finished out the back, whereas the other two just got beat. It’s very difficult to make choices, thankfully I didn’t have to choose between two in this race!
“I won this race before on a filly called Rizeena for Clive Britain [in 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.”
Mighty Eriu’s trainer Gavin Cromwell said: “That was a great run and we certainly can’t complain. We needed to wait a while for the gap to open; she went through it well and she won her race on her side. She probably got a little bit lonely in front of her bunch, but it was a lovely run and I’m delighted. The winner won well, too, and I wouldn’t take anything away from her. Mighty Eriu will keep improving. Trip-wise, I think five or six would be fine for her. She’s got a great attitude and great mind to her.”
Adrian Nicholls said of Maw Lam: “I am delighted. She was very unlucky the last day [finished second in the Hilary Needler on 8th June]. I don’t have the firepower that a lot of teams here have; coming down here, she’s my only runner, so you’re coming with hope. They went fast, Hollie said, and she finished strong, so to get black type in the Queen Mary is brilliant. We’ll see what the team want to do – hopefully go for a Listed race, then onwards to better things, hopefully.
“Maw Lam is very, very relaxed. She likes the attention. She was asleep 20 minutes before the girls went to put the bridle on her, which stands her in good stead, so hopefully now maybe France, or there’s a race in Ireland. For us with 20 horses, it’s very exciting to have something that can represent us at these big meetings.”
