Biancone: Lennilu ‘The Right Horse’ for Royal Ascot

Royal Palm Juvenile Fillies Winner Slated for Queen Mary

HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – Undefeated in two career starts, Lennilu has given trainer Patrick Biancone confidence that the gray 2-year-old filly is ready to take on Royal Ascot.

“I think we have the right horse to do that,” Biancone said Wednesday.

Lennilu earned a stakes berth at the Royal Ascot meeting (June 17-21) with her 3 ¾-length romp in the May 10 Royal Palm Juvenile Fillies at Gulfstream Park.

The daughter of Leinster had debuted April 6 at Keeneland with a length victory in a 4 ½-furlong maiden special weight race on dirt. In the five-furlong Royal Palm Juvenile Fillies, in which she prompted the early pace before taking over and drawing clear, Lennilu took to the turf in a big way to earn her trip to England.

“She’s doing good. Everything is going perfectly. She will be leaving the 10th for Newmarket and will run June 18 at Ascot,” Biancone said.

Lennilu returned to the work tab at Palm Meadows, Gulfstream’s satellite training facility in Palm Beach County, last Friday with an easy half-mile breeze in preparation for a planned start in the Group 2 Queen Mary June 18. Like the Royal Palm Juvenile Fillies, the Queen Mary will be contested at five furlongs on turf.

Lennilu, who is owned by Amy Dunne, Caitlin Dunne, Brenda Miley, Jean Wilkinson, Hoffman Family Racing LLC, Tranquility Lake Farm LLC, Maury Harrington and Christopher Harrington, will not be accompanied by stablemate Squire to Royal Ascot.

Squire, a son of Leinster who won at first asking April 18 at Gulfstream, finished second in the May 10 Royal Palm Juvenile, in which he dueled for the lead before weakening late.

“Squire, we gave him a break. He wasn’t mature enough mentally to go to Ascot,” Biancone said. “He went back to the farm to relax a little bit for a month and come back in a month.”

Leinster, a son of Majestic Warrior who stands at Pleasant Acres Stallions in Morriston, FL, was a multiple graded-stakes winner on turf who closed out his career with a third-place finish in the 2020 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (G1) at Keeneland and a victory in the 2021 Gulfstream Park Turf Sprint (G3). Biancone said all offspring of Leinster have one thing in common.

“They’re all fast,” he said.

Biancone-trained Emerald Ember, who lost his recent debut by a nose, and Jose D’Angelo-trained Monster, who graduated in his turf debut last week by nine lengths for Arindel, were also sired by Leinster, a first crop sire.

Rainbow 6 Starts Anew Thursday at Gulfstream Park

The 20-cent Rainbow 6 starts anew Thursday at Gulfstream Park, where a mandatory payout of the popular multi-race wager’s jackpot pool yielded multiple $31,481.78 payoffs Sunday.

The Rainbow 6, which had been solved a week earlier for a $185, 237.30 jackpot payoff, will span Races 4-9 Thursday. The sequence will feature a well-stocked 5 ½-furlong maiden special weight event for 3-year-old fillies on Tapeta. Joe Orseno-trained Love Actually returns from turf to the all-weather surface, over which the daughter of Caravaggio has finished second twice in as many starts. Orseno will also be represented in the nine-filly field by Lido Beach, a daughter of Curlin’s Honor who finished third her recent debut. Eddie Plesa Jr.-trained Valiant Hope, who finished 1 ½ lengths ahead of Lido Beach while finishing second in her second start, appears to be another win candidate. Saffie Joseph Jr.-trained Violence and Peace, a daughter of Violence, is slated to debut from the rail post.

The Rainbow 6 jackpot pool is only paid out when there is a single unique ticket sold with all six winners. On days when there is no unique ticket, 70 percent of that day’s pool usually goes back to those bettors holding tickets with the most winners, while 30 percent is carried over to the jackpot pool. On Mandatory days, the entire jackpot pool will be disbursed to the bettor or bettors with tickets including the most winners.