Watch: Royal Delta's foal, Delta's Royalty, wins on debut

The late Royal Delta’s lone foal, 2-year-old Delta’s Royalty, entered her Thursday debut at England’s Kempton Park Racecourse with some lofty goals given she already holds entries to next year’s Irish 1,000 Guineas (G1) and Irish Oaks (G1).

The daughter of Galileo took a step toward them despite an eventful, mile-long trip that saw her caught inside much of the way, then swerving into her closest rival in deep stretch.

Stewards left the result — a victory by about 3/4 of a length — stand after an inquiry that rivaled the 2019 Kentucky Derby in its duration.

Under scrutiny was the stretch run, in which Delta’s Royalty responded to a right-hand strike from jockey Jack Mitchell by veering sharply away from the rail and into runner-up Samille. The late move also fanned out third-place Fairmet and Aswaat, who was fourth.

But Delta’s Royalty, trained by Roger Varian for Besilu Stable’s Benjamin Leon, moved her record to 1-for-1 nonetheless. 

Off at 3-5 on the U.S. tote, Delta’s Royalty navigated early from the inside post in a full field of 14, settling in sixth through the turn while blocked from all sides. Off the bend, Mitchell made a shrewd move at the “cutaway,” where the rail ends and the stretch opens up wider, to find room on the right side of the course and guide his mount to the lead.

Delta’s Royalty emerged from a five-wide fight for the top spot when her late antics began, but she repelled Samille to score and make herself eligible for a move up the class ladder next time.

Royal Delta, the Hall of Famer and Eclipse Award winner trained by Bill Mott from 2010-2013, died from complications of Delta’s Royalty’s foaling. Leon has said he’ll never sell the offspring.

Earlier this year, he told Europe’s Racing Post that, “I’ve never seen a filly any better than the way Delta’s Royalty looks. I have great expectations for her.”