Tags ‘Royal Delta’

With No. 6 in his sights, Smith recalls his five Breeders’ Cup Distaff winners

DRF | 4 years ago
This fall at Santa Anita, Mike Smith will try to add to his record Breeders' Cup totals – 26 wins and $35.9 million in earnings. It is no surprise Smith's most heavily fancied mount is Midnight Bisou in the Distaff, a race he has won five times. Read More...

Royal Delta’s family tree continues to grow

DRF | 5 years ago
Three-time Eclipse Award champion Royal Delta, who will be inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame on Friday in Saratoga, had a star-crossed career as a broodmare, producing just one foal. Regardless of the accomplishments for Delta’s Royalty on the racetrack or in the breeding shed, this active family tree will not end with Royal Delta. Read More...

Royal Delta tops Hall of Fame nominees

DRF | 5 years ago
Led by multiple Eclipse Award winner Royal Delta, appearing on the ballot in her first year of eligibility, and Rags to Riches, one of only three fillies to win the Belmont Stakes, a total of nine individuals – five horses, three trainers, and one jockey – were announced on Thursday as the finalists who will appear this year’s ballot for the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. Read More...

Mind Your Biscuits set for return in Gulfstream Park Sprint

DRF | 7 years ago
Mind Your Biscuits figures as a solid favorite when the 4-year-old colt makes his first start since winning the Grade 1 Malibu on Dec. 26 at Santa Anita, returning Saturday in the Grade 3, $100,000 Gulfstream Park Sprint at 6 1/2 furlongs. Read More...

Three-time champion Royal Delta dies at 9

DRF | 7 years ago
The star-crossed breeding career of three-time Eclipse Award winner Royal Delta came to a tragic end this week, when the mare died due to foaling complications in Ireland. Her Galileo filly survived. Read More...

Eclipse Awards: Wise Dan repeats as Horse of the Year

DRF | 10 years ago
Wise Dan completed an unprecedented trifecta Saturday night, becoming the first horse to win three Eclipse Awards in consecutive years by making off with titles as 2013 Horse of the Year, champion older male, and champion male turf horse – the same categories he swept in 2012 – at the 43rd annual Eclipse Awards dinner at Gulfstream Park. Read More...

Dick Jerardi: Likely champions made stops at Mid-Atlantic tracks – 1389115992

DRF | 10 years ago
Once all the votes are tabulated, it is likely that two of the Mid-Atlantic tracks will have hosted divisional champions in their marquee events. Read More...

Dick Jerardi: Likely champions made stops at Mid-Atlantic tracks

DRF | 10 years ago
Once all the votes are tabulated, it is likely that two of the Mid-Atlantic tracks will have hosted divisional champions in their marquee events. Read More...

Champion Royal Delta retired from racing

DRF | 10 years ago
Royal Delta, a 10-time graded stakes winner and two-time Eclipse Award champion, has been retired from racing, her connections announced Wednesday. Read More...

Beholder Runs Away With Breeders’ Cup Distaff

Michael Compton | 10 years ago
Trainer Richard Mandella had been preparing Spendthrift Farm’s Beholder to rate behind horses during her workouts. The morning training paid off in a big way on Nov. 1 when last year’s Eclipse Champion 2-year-old filly likely locked up another championship in winning the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Distaff (G1). Ridden by Gary Stevens, Beholder rated [...](Read more...) Read More...

Breeders’ Cup: For Royal Delta and Princess of Sylmar, an unfortunate end to a fine season

DRF | 10 years ago
The two beasts of the East, Royal Delta and Princess of Sylmar, faded away in Friday’s Breeders’ Cup Distaff as gently as the late-afternoon sunshine slipping from the Southern California sky. Read More...

Breeders’ Cup: Beholder, speed bias the talk of Friday’s card

DRF | 10 years ago
Beholder strongly enhanced her chances of being named champion 3-year-old filly with an overpowering victory in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff on Friday at Santa Anita, a day when the speed-biased nature of the main track was a major talking point. Read More...

Breeders’ Cup Distaff: Beholder makes it look easy

DRF | 10 years ago
Beholder and jockey Gary Stevens turned a race billed as one of the most evenly contested of Breeders’ Cup 2013 into a tour de force. Beholder crushed the $2 million BC Distaff by 4 1/4 lengths, humbling a top-class field Friday at Santa Anita. Her rivals never really showed up. Read More...

Andrew Beyer: Horse of the Year title on the line at Breeders’ Cup

DRF | 10 years ago
One year ago, the choice for Horse of the Year was settled in the final hour of the Breeders’ Cup. Wise Dan defeated high-class international competition to capture the Mile and establish his supremacy as a grass specialist. When Game On Dude, regarded as the country’s best dirt runner, flopped in the Classic, he handed the sport’s top honor to Wise Dan. Read More...

Breeders’ Cup workouts: Royal Delta, Goldencents, Worldly impress

DRF | 10 years ago
The following are the final thoughts on selected horses racing on Friday’s Breeders’ Cup card from impressions formed over the past two weeks at Belmont Park and Santa Anita. Read More...

Breeders’ Cup: Royal Delta’s three-peat bid in Distaff is highlight of Friday card

DRF | 10 years ago
When Royal Delta lined up in the starting gate a year ago at Santa Anita against two undefeated champion fillies, it seemed as though the Breeders’ Cup’s championship dirt race for females had reached its zenith. But, like the boys in Spinal Tap, they raised it one louder this year. Read More...

Steven Crist: Friday’s Breeders’ Cup card for punters and purists alike

DRF | 10 years ago
Friday’s Breeders’ Cup card lacks any unifying theme and consists of five disparate races, four of which have no championship implications. Those four races, however, are a horseplayer’s delight, and the fifth race, the Distaff, is a true clash of champions. Read More...

Breeders’ Cup Distaff: Royal Delta needs her best to beat Princess of Sylmar, Beholder

DRF | 10 years ago
Royal Delta lost her final prep. So she is still mortal, still not invincible. But she still is very good, and both trainer Bill Mott and jockey Mike Smith believe Royal Delta is loaded for Friday’s marquee event – the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Distaff. Read More...

Breeders’ Cup: Mott, like his horses, getting better with age

DRF | 10 years ago
Bill Mott turned 60 in July, but in much the same way as his horses do, Mott isn’t getting older – he’s getting better. Read More...

Dick Jerardi: Horses with Mid-Atlantic ties abundant in Breeders’ Cup

DRF | 10 years ago
Horses that have run and won at the Mid-Atlantic tracks are all over the 14 Breeders’ Cup races to be run Friday and Saturday at Santa Anita. Read More...

Breeders’ Cup Distaff: Royal Delta, Beholder to start side by side

DRF | 10 years ago
Royal Delta will start the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Distaff from directly inside pace rival Beholder, a draw that is likely to dictate a front-running strategy for the two-time Distaff winner. Read More...

Breeders’ Cup workouts at Belmont: Royal Delta sizzles

DRF | 10 years ago
In her final workout before she attempts an unprecedented three-peat in Friday’s $2 million Breeders’ Cup Distaff at Santa Anita, Royal Delta blazed four furlongs in 46.52 seconds Saturday at Belmont Park. Read More...

Breeders’ Cup workouts: Royal Delta turns in sharp breeze

DRF | 10 years ago
As far as the Daily Racing Form clocker report is concerned, the path to the Breeders’ Cup at Santa Anita Park once again begins 3,000 miles away at Belmont Park, where the majority of the New York-based trainers will complete preparations for their Cup-bound runners prior to putting them on their flights to California less than a week before the big event. Read More...

Belmont Park: Princess of Sylmar a go for Breeders’ Cup Distaff

DRF | 10 years ago
Owner Ed Stanco completed his 180-degree odyssey to the Breeders’ Cup, and now his sensational 3-year-old filly, Princess of Sylmar, will travel 3,000 miles to compete in the $2 million Distaff on Nov. 1 at Santa Anita. Read More...

Belmont Park notes: Princess of Sylmar likely for Breeders’ Cup Distaff

DRF | 10 years ago
While her connections were not prepared to make it official Saturday, all indications are that Princess of Sylmar is headed to the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Distaff at Santa Anita on Nov. 1. Read More...

Belmont Park notes: Close Hatches targets Breeders’ Cup Distaff

DRF | 10 years ago
Barring a setback in her training, Close Hatches, a three-time graded stakes-winning 3-year-old filly, will run in the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Distaff at Santa Anita on Nov. 1, trainer Bill Mott said Friday. Read More...

Breeders’ Cup Distaff field gaining strength

DRF | 10 years ago
The growing possibility Princess of Sylmar and Close Hatches both might start has dramatically altered the Breeders’ Cup Distaff, and changed it from a small-field procession into a race that would be among the most eagerly anticipated of 2013. Read More...

Breeders’ Cup Distaff: Royal Delta, Beholder, Authenticity only confirmed starters

DRF | 10 years ago
The 2013 field for the Breeders’ Cup Distaff is taking shaping as the smallest in the history of the race. Wednesday, the race had three confirmed starters – Royal Delta, Beholder and Authenticity. Read More...

Breeders’ Cup Distaff: Royal Delta ‘might have a better one in her’

DRF | 10 years ago
Royal Delta maintained her role as Breeders’ Cup Distaff favorite, though her position is less secure than before a pair of Grade 1 races Saturday at Belmont Park and Santa Anita. Read More...

Belmont Park notes: Princess of Sylmar unlikely to run again this year

DRF | 10 years ago
Princess of Sylmar most likely will not run again this year but will be pointed to a 2014 campaign, her owner said Sunday. Read More...

Beldame: Princess of Sylmar upsets Royal Delta

DRF | 10 years ago
In a finish more surprising for its ease than its result, the 3-year-old Princess of Sylmar glided past two-time champion Royal Delta in midstretch to win Saturday’s Grade 1, $400,000 Beldame Invitational by two lengths at Belmont Park. Read More...

Belmont Park: Royal Delta has speed edge over Princess of Sylmar in Beldame

DRF | 10 years ago
Given how Belmont’s main track is tending to favor front-running horses, it seems like it will take a Herculean effort from Princess of Sylmar to catch two-time Breeders’ Cup Distaff winner Royal Delta in the Grade 1 Beldame on Saturday. Read More...

Belmont: Princess of Sylmar tries to play spoiler in Beldame

DRF | 10 years ago
Saturday, Todd Pletcher will send out Princess of Sylmar, the leading 3-year-old filly in the country, against the two-time champion Royal Delta in the Grade 1, $400,000 Beldame Invitational at Belmont Park. Read More...

Royal Delta and Princess of Sylmar Top Beldame

Michael Compton | 10 years ago
A much anticipated showdown between Royal Delta and Princess of Sylmar is on tap in the 74th running of the Beldame Invitational (G1) at Belmont Park on Super Saturday. Victory in the Beldame, a one-turn race run at 1 1/8 miles, automatically qualifies the winner for entry into the Breeders’ Cup Distaff as part of [...](Read more...) Read More...

Belmont Park: For Royal Delta, autumn is winning time

DRF | 10 years ago
Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott maintains that Royal Delta is at her best in the fall of the year. Given how well she ran the last two races of the summer, that’s a pretty scary proposition for those taking her on in Saturday’s Grade 1, $400,000 Beldame Invitational at Belmont Park. Read More...

Breeders’ Cup Distaff: Beldame, Zenyatta critical preps

DRF | 10 years ago
Grade 1 races Saturday at Belmont Park and Santa Anita will define a Breeders’ Cup Distaff field currently led by the reigning division queen. Read More...

Breeders’ Cup Distaff: Royal Delta could go for three-peat

DRF | 11 years ago
Royal Delta will be strongly favored when she seeks an unprecedented three-peat in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff, though trainer Bill Mott and owner Benjamin Leon have not closed the door on the BC Classic. Read More...

Saratoga: Princess of Sylmar may meet Royal Delta in Beldame Stakes

DRF | 11 years ago
Princess of Sylmar, the clear-cut leader of the 3-year-old filly division, will race one more time this year, and owner Ed Stanco said Monday he wouldn’t mind taking on Royal Delta in the Grade 1, $400,000 Beldame at Belmont Park on Sept. 28. Read More...

Royal Delta Too Much for Personal Ensign Foes

Michael Compton | 11 years ago
Champion Royal Delta made it look all too easy in dispatching rivals in the 66th running of the Personal Ensign Invitational Handicap (G1) on Sunday at Saratoga.The victory earned the 5-year-old mare, a two-time Eclipse Award winner, an automatic berth and an all-fees-paid entry into the Breeders’ Cup Distaff at Santa Anita this fall as [...](Read more...) Read More...

Saratoga: Royal Delta still the queen after win in Personal Ensign

DRF | 11 years ago
Two-time Eclipse Award winner Royal Delta left little doubt that she is indeed still the queen of her division and erased the memory of one of the few blemishes on her outstanding résume’, cruising to a 4 1/2-length victory over Authenticity in Sunday’s $600,000 Personal Ensign. Royal Delta finished second as the odds-on favorite in the 2012 Personal Ensign. Read More...

Saratoga: Royal Delta faces pair of speedy challengers in Personal Ensign

DRF | 11 years ago
Royal Delta will try to keep her position against two would-be queens – Authenticity and On Fire Baby – in the Grade 1, $600,000 Personal Ensign Handicap at Saratoga. Read More...

Saratoga: Royal Delta faces four in Personal Ensign

DRF | 11 years ago
On Fire Baby, winner of the Grade 1 Apple Blossom in April, and Authenticity, winner of the Grade 3 Shuvee last out, head the list of competitors scheduled to face Royal Delta in Sunday's Grade 1, $600,000 Personal Ensign Invitational at 1 1/8 miles. Read More...

Saratoga notes: Will Take Charge ‘dead fit’ for Travers

DRF | 11 years ago
Despite not being able to bring Preakness winner Oxbow to the race, trainer D. Wayne Lukas still will make his first Travers appearance in more than a decade with Will Take Charge, a sneaky longshot in Saturday’s $1 million race. Read More...

Saratoga: Pletcher sophomores breeze for upcoming stakes

DRF | 11 years ago
Trainer Todd Pletcher had his arsenal of 3-year-old stars out for some work on a picture-perfect Sunday morning at Saratoga, a group that included Belmont Stakes and Jim Dandy winner Palace Malice, Haskell winner Verrazano, and the filly Princess of Sylmar, the winner of the Kentucky Oaks as well as the Coaching Club American Oaks here earlier in the meet. Read More...

Saratoga: Royal Delta, Princess of Sylmar breeze

DRF | 11 years ago
Royal Delta, the reigning older female champion, and Princess of Sylmar, the leader of this year’s 3-year-old filly division, topped a busy work tab Sunday at Saratoga. Read More...

Del Mar notes: Fury Kapcori set for highly anticipated 3-year-old debut

DRF | 11 years ago
On Thursday at Del Mar, Fury Kapcori finally gets back to the races following an injury. He makes his 3-year-old debut in the day’s sixth race, a six-furlong optional claimer in which Fury Kapcori is using his second-level allowance condition. Read More...

Del Mar: Kettle Corn, Paynter could get rematch in Pacific Classic

DRF | 11 years ago
Kettle Corn and Paynter, the first two finishers of Saturday’s Grade 2 San Diego Handicap at Del Mar, might have a rematch in the $1 million Pacific Classic on Aug. 25. Read More...

Saratoga: Royal Delta points to Personal Ensign after big effort

DRF | 11 years ago
Trainer Bill Mott was understandably in a jovial mood Sunday morning, roughly 16 hours after Royal Delta dominated Saturday’s Grade 1 Delaware Handicap by 10 3/4 lengths. Read More...

Delaware Park: Royal Delta back in top form with Del Cap victory

DRF | 11 years ago
The second Delaware Handicap was far easier than the first for Royal Delta, the champion mare who on Saturday blew things open early in taking the annual Delaware Park showcase for the second straight year. Read More...

Delaware Handicap: Royal Delta rarely fails twice in a row

DRF | 11 years ago
Coming off a five-length loss as the 1-5 favorite in last month’s Grade 2 Fleur de Lis Handicap at Churchill Downs, Royal Delta will be looking for redemption in Saturday’s Grade 1, $750,000 Delaware Handicap, a race she won last year. Read More...