Royal Delta

7th-Belmont The Big A, $85,000, Msw, 9-13, 2yo, 1 1/16mT, 1:43.06, fm, nose. NOBLE DYNASTY (c, 2, Kingman {GB}--Delta's Royalty {Ire}, by Galileo {Ire}), a hard-charging second on Saratoga debut Aug. 7, validated 8-5 favoritism--if only just--while making his second trip to the races Saturday afternoon at Aqueduct. By one of Europe's top stallions, the maternal grandson of three-time Eclipse Award winner Royal Delta (Empire Maker) was trapped out four wide entering the first turn, but when longshot Golden Rule (Goldencents) went on with it to put a bit of...

5th-KD, 170K, Msw, 3yo/up, f, 61/2fT, 3:39 p.m. Besilu Stables homebred QUEEN DANCING (GB) (Kingman {GB}) debuts Wednesday for trainer Bill Mott on closing day at Kentucky Downs. The well-bred filly is a daughter of GI Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup winner and 'TDN Rising Star' Crown Queen (Smart Strike), who Besilu acquired at KEENOV in 2011 for $1,600,000. The mare is a half to three-time champion, fellow 'TDN Rising Star' and Hall of Famer Royal Delta (Empire Maker) (another sales-topping Besilu purchase at KEENOV '11 for $8.5m), GISW Delta...

   In this continuing series, TDN's Senior Racing Editor Steve Sherack catches up with the connections of promising maidens to keep on your radar. The gone-too-soon, two-time GI Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic heroine and three-time champion Royal Delta (Empire Maker) left behind only one foal, the winning filly Delta's Royalty (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}). The future looks bright for the 8-year-old mare's second produce Noble Dynasty (c, 2, Kingman {GB}), who recorded a fantastic runner-up finish for Besilu Stables and Hall of Famer Bill Mott on debut going a mile over...

The team at Ben Leon's Besilu Stables had reason for optimism when 3-year-old Dai Vernon (Good Magic) went to the post for his debut over the Ellis Park turf in June, but while they came away disappointed that day, the handsome chestnut colt more than made up for it with a striking last-to-first victory over the main track at the Henderson oval Sunday afternoon. "This is going to be a serious horse," Leon's bloodstock advisor Fabricio Buffolo said when asked about his reaction to Dai Vernon's 5 1/4-length victory Monday....

When it comes to training racehorses, Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott has pretty much seen it all over the past half a century. In 2019, however, Churchill Downs served as a backdrop for a rare first for the Hall of Famer, who captured his first GI Kentucky Derby with 'TDN Rising Star' Country House (Lookin At Lucky). Fast forward a year and Mott closes in on another personal first, namely his 5,000th career win, which places him seventh overall, and fourth among leading active trainers. "I am proud of...