Alkass Digital
The Queen Mary Stakes went the way of promising filly Leovanni (Kodi Bear) who was a remarkable winner of the £150,000 contest at Royal Ascot on Wednesday.
After a faultless debut when winning at Nottingham, Leovanni won again in some style and remains unbeaten. Carrying the colours of Wathnan Racing, the superb filly is trained by Karl Burke who is having a fine season.
Ridden by James Doyle, 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 contest 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 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.“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,” he said.
Bred by Kcs Bloodstock Ltd, Leovanni is out of Kassandra (Dandy Man), who is a half-sister to Listed winner Majestic Myles (Majestic Missile) and a full sister to Gr.2 placed Parbold (Dandy Man).