Leovanni produces sizzling display to take Queen Mary

Leovanni stormed clear in the final furlong to land the Queen Mary Stakes at Royal Ascot.

The Karl Burke-trained filly raced prominently in the group on the far side before James Doyle got to work and sent her to the front.

Winner of her only previous start, the Wathnan Racing-owned youngster had far too much speed for the rest and pulled clear down the centre of the track to land the honours by a ready length and three-quarters at 22-1.

Mighty Eriu stayed on to take second for Gavin Cromwell, with the Adrian Nicholls-trained Maw Lam taking third.

“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) and his whole team,” said Doyle.

“I was pleased with her 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. 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!”

He added tellingly: “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.”