Royal Delta's only offspring wins her debut

Delta’s Royalty, the only foal out of late Hall of Fame racemare Royal Delta, made her debut a winning one Thursday at Kempton in England.

Delta’s Royalty, a 2-year-old Galileo filly, won by three-quarters of a length going a mile on the all-weather surface. She is trained by Jack Varian for breeder and owner Benjamin Leon Jr.’s Besilu Stables.

Three-time Eclipse Award champion Royal Delta died of foaling complications at age 9 in 2017 after delivering Delta’s Royalty, who was raised on a nurse mare in Ireland. The Empire Maker mare did not get in foal to Galileo during her first breeding season in 2014; the following year, she aborted the foal. She was bred successfully to Galileo in 2016, resulting in her filly. Royal Delta won six Grade 1 races, highlighted by the 2011 and 2012 editions of the Breeders’ Cup Distaff/Ladies’ Classic. She won four other graded stakes while putting together a career record of 22-12-5-1 and earning $4,811,126. She was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame this year.

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