Delta's Royalty Earns Debut Victory at Kempton

In January, owner Benjamin Leon Jr. told Racing Post he's never seen a filly look any better than Delta's Royalty. On Dec. 5, the regally bred daughter of Galileo—Royal Delta, by Empire Maker , began to make good on that promise.

Despite racing a bit greenly through the stretch, the Besilu Stables homebred proved plenty talented to secure a three-quarter-length victory in her debut, a one-mile test against other juvenile fillies on the all-weather surface at Kempton.

Trained by Roger Varian and ridden by Jack Mitchell, Delta's Royalty closed well and switched leads a quarter-mile from the wire. She seized the lead inside the final furlong and, despite racing greenly at that point, had enough to hold off longshot runner-up Samille in the field of 14.

"The performance showcased the clear ability she had been showing in her work at home," noted Varian on his website. "And the fact she was able to win despite being extremely green bodes well for when she matures, especially with her outstanding dam proving to be at her best as an older horse."

Bred in Ireland, Delta's Royalty is the lone offspring of the late Royal Delta, a two-time Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic (G1) winner. 

Leon's Besilu Stables acquired Royal Delta for $8.5 million at the 2011 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale, days after her first Ladies' Classic win at Churchill Downs. Royal Delta won the race now known as the Breeders' Cup Distaff a year later for her new owner at Santa Anita Park. 

After delivering Delta's Royalty in 2017, Royal Delta died of complications from the foaling.