Champion Royal Delta's only foal, Delta's Royalty, to debut Thursday

The lone foal out of of multiple champion Royal Delta, Delta’s Royalty, is set to make her racing debut Thursday at England's Kempton Park Race Course.

By Galileo, Delta’s Royalty will face 13 rivals in a maiden stakes for 2-year-old fillies going one mile on the Kempton all-weather surface. She is owned by Benjamin Leon and trained by Roger Varian Royal Delta was purchased by Leon for $8.5 million at the 2011 Keeneland November breeding stock sale just days after winning the Breeders’ Cup Ladies Classic at Santa Anita and sewing up the Eclipse Award as champion 3-year-old filly. She would remain in training two more seasons and add an Eclipse Award as champion older mare in each, while also adding a second Ladies Classic (now the Distaff) in 2012.  Royal Delta ended her brilliant racing career with a mark of 12-5-1 from 22 starts, which includes 10 graded stakes wins, and earnings of $4,811,126.  Unfortunately, the broodmare career of Royal Delta was a different matter. The daughter of Empire Maker was twice sent to Galileo and failed to get in foal. A third mating with Galileo resulted in Delta’s Royalty, but tragically Royal Delta died from foaling complications. Delta’s Royalty understandably holds a special place for Leon. “Her Galileo filly will never be sold,” Leon told Racing Post earlier this year. “She’s the most important Thoroughbred I have because of what she represents to me from Royal Delta. With the genetics, I thought Galileo would be the perfect match for Royal Delta, and I’ve never seen a filly any better than the way Delta’s Royalty looks. I have great expectations for her.” Delta’s Royalty is trading at near even-money for her debut, which has an approximate post time of 1:45 p.m. ET.