Royal Delta crowned in Ladies' Classic

Palides Investments NV Inc.'s homebred Royal Delta lived up to the promise her name

implied with

a 2 1/2-length victory on Friday in the $1,818,000

Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic. Jockey Jose Lezcano bided his time on the

Bill Mott trainee until the stretch, then gave the sophomore daughter of Empire

Maker her signal. Royal Delta ground out the win while stopping the clock in

1:50 3/5 for nine furlongs over the good main track at Churchill Downs.

"At the eighth-pole or approaching the eighth-pole, I started to

think, well, I hope the fractions were fast enough for us to get there,"

Mott admitted. "I started to get a little worried because the speed

seemed to be carrying very well. About the time I started to worry, I

saw her starting to gain the momentum. Once she got to them, it was

adios, see you later. She ran really well. She ran up to the way she's

been training.

"My staff, everybody around her has done a tremendous, tremendous

job," he added. We're so fortunate to have a filly like this. I mean, we

recognized her as a nice filly before she ever ran. After she ran the

first time, I mean, it looked like she was probably better than we even

thought she was. She's just continued on that path."

"I got a very good trip. She broke real good and she was very

comfortable and relaxed. When I asked her, she gave me a very good kick.

When we hit the quarter (pole), I felt very comfortable that we would

win the race."

It's Tricky took second by 2 1/4 lengths over Pachattack, who in turn had

three parts of a length to spare on fourth-placer Ultra Blend.

"She was second best. Congratulations to the winner," said a gracious Kiaran

McLaughlin, who trains It's Tricky. "We didn't have any excuse. She ran great.

We were hoping Ask the Moon would take on (trainer Bob) Baffert's filly (Plum

Pretty) and set it up more for us. But we ran well, we were just second best."

"I'm so proud of her," trainer Gerard Butler said of Pachattack. "I didn't

know at one stage whether we'd get fourth or third. The team has done a great

job. She just loves this place and she loves this ground."

Plum Pretty

dropped back to fifth, with Ask the Moon, Super Espresso, Satans Quick Chick and

Miss Match completing the order under the wire. Medaglia d'Amour was an early

scratch on Thursday after running a temperature.

"I don't think she gave her best effort last time (second in

Beldame), but she gave it tonight," Mott said. "She's been training as

well as our Classic horses (Drosselmeyer and To Honor and Serve). This

is special. It's nice just to win one of these, let alone two in a row."

With this career-making win now added to her resume, the probable

three-year-old champion filly has racked up an 8-5-1-1 mark to go along with

$1,694,600 in lifetime earnings.

Royal Delta is scheduled to be sold as part of the Prince Saud bin

Khaled dispersal that will take place during Keeneland November, which

begins Monday. Prince Saud, who passed away earlier this year, conducted his

Thoroughbred racing and breeding operation under the name Palides

Investments N.V. Inc., which he began in 1984 with the purchase of six

horses. He established his 260-acre Chanteclair Farm, near Midway,

Kentucky, in 1995.