Royal Delta (Grade 3)- $150.000 Purse
GP- For Fillies and Mares Four Years Old and Upward
One Mile and One Sixteenth on the Dirt
February 15, 2025

The Royal Delta had a deep field of twelve take part, and while two horses took the majority of the money at the betting window, it would be a 14/1 longshot stealing the show. Wavy Girl, a five-year-old mare trained by Saratoga Stud, would come on strong in the stretch to get the win. She was not our top choice, but she was among our top picks. For Saratoga Stud, it is his first win in the race, and that is also true for jockey D Van Dyke. Congratulations to them! The race was won in a time of 1:41.74, the second fastest in the race’s history. Only the great Z Command, in 2021, was faster. Let’s take a look at it now:

(1/4 Mile- :23.00)- From the outside, Pink Attack goes out to the race lead for The Sidley Stud in her effort to win the race for the second time. She’s a length ahead of the well-bet Foxy Envoy, out of Arindel, and that one is a length ahead of a group of three horses that is right behind her. Threshold’s Balius, who would be the slight post time favorite has a head in front of the other two while running in the outside lane. Massive longshot Radio Ruffian is to her inside for TwinTowersRacing, and closer to the rail is where we will find Oprah, in the silks of D J C Racing Stables. Behind them, Jinxed Artist is next, while running in the fourth lane for South Beach Racing, a neck in front of Big Guns Stables’ Ignore Tucker. That will take us to our eventual winner from Saratoga Stud, Wavy Girl. For now, Wavy Girl is in eighth 3-4 lengths off the pace. Also with this group is Mo Mentum Farm’s Flyingbolt. It’s a break of a length and a half to the remaining three, Sandrine (Onlineracingclub.com), Flint Off (Asgar), and American Sky (Riggins Racing).

(½ Mile- :46.66)- As we move down the backstretch, Pink Attack and Foxy Envoy inch a little further ahead of those that had been behind them, with Pink Attack having the advantage between them. The main mover at this point of the race was Jinxed Artist, but it wasn’t really because of a push and rather the jockey taking advantage of the clear lane to move her alongside the three that had been in front of her. Those three are still Balius, Radio Ruffian, and Oprah, and they are content to hold their positions here. It’s a length to Ignore Tucker, who might be looking for running room now, and to her outside, Wavy Girl is waiting for her time to strike. Flyingbolt is trying to hang with them still, and the other three are running their own race in the back.

(Top of Stretch, 1.5F To Go)- Wavy Girl was interesting to watch at the top of the turn. She did not begin her push yet, but D Van Dyke was clearly positioning her to make that move by bringing her to the far outside. Her advance would be methodical within the turn, and by the time they entered the top of the stretch, a lot of her hard work was done, moving into the fourth spot, and only being a length and a half behind the leaders. Those are still Pink Attack and Foxy Envoy, and the latter is beginning to prevail. Jinxed Artist is hanging around in the third spot. L Saez needed to wait a little longer, out of necessity, to ask Ignore Tucker for more run, and that one still had to contend with some traffic in the stretch. Balius was hanging around, and she were to have had something left, she was positioned nicely to bring joy to those who made her the favorite. Meanwhile, Oprah and Radio Ruffian were starting to get left behind, as was Flyingbolt. The three who were way back were getting more involved now but had a lot of work to do.

(Finish- 1:41.74)- Foxy Envoy would look good in the stretch, but Wavy Girl would be too much for her to handle. In the final half furlong or so, Wavy Girl would draw even and get by just enough to secure a win by a half a length at the wire. Foxy Envoy is a solid second, holding on to that spot over Ignore Tucker, who tried to take it away in the closing strides. Flint Off’s late charge on the outside was not a lost cause, as it gets her fourth-place spoils. American Sky came on to edge out Jinxed Artist for fifth, and the rest of the order will read Pink Attack, Balius, Sandrine, Oprah, Flyingbolt, and Radio Ruffian.

About The Winner- Wavy Girl, trained by Saratoga Stud and ridden to victory by D Van Dyke, is a five-year-old mare by Declassified and is out of the late Wavy. She was bred in California as a second quarter two-year-old by LionKing Stables and was acquired by Saratoga Stud while she was still unraced for $35.000 in a July 2022 private sale. Congratulations to the connections! The win is her ninth in 21 starts, her seventh stake win and sixth graded win. Her career earnings are now $1,902.200.

Track: Fast
Time: :23  :46³  1:10⁴  1:41³

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 6 – 8 Paid 92.10
$1 Trifecta: 6 – 8 – 5 Paid 1,343.80

Scratched: None

— NS

Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES