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 26, 2022

We had the winner and the exacta for the Royal Delta, but Zombie Storm did not exactly win this race in the way that was expected. She had scored two impressive, wire to wire victories in a pair of Grade 3’s leading up to the HOU Ladies Classic. In that race, she was way back at the start, and struggled. So, surely she would be at the front of the field again? It turned out that Zombie Storm would find herself near the rear of the field again, at one time being as many as seven lengths back, but things were going to be a lot different here than they were at HOU. She would storm on through the field in the stretch, and get the win by nearly a length. It had to be very satisfying for trainer La Canada Racehorses to not only win, but to see that his filly could come from behind like that in the stretch. It is the first time that both he and jockey J R Leparoux have won the race, so congratulations go out to them! The time of the race was 1:41.86, the second quickest winning time of the race when it was run at this distance. Let’s take a look!

(¼ Mile- :23.19)- Antiquated Story hurries out of the gate to take the lead for Nakamura Stables as they move around the opening turn. Right alongside her is Slim Trim And Grim, for Wood Duck Stables, and these two a larger than usual cushion over third place. That advantage is about 2-3 lengths, and running in that third spot would be TwinTowersRacing’s Starship Twister. Even she was a length ahead of the next spot, which would be Smokey Stover’s Tenrikyo and Mwn Racing’s Widen Your View. After another length and a half, it’s our eventual winner, Zombie Storm, for La Canada Racehorses. She is six lengths or so out of it at this time. Nearby to her are the two trailers, Table For One (Alydar Stables) and Forever Phooey Party (Night Rider Stables).

(½ Mile- :46.59)- Antiquated Story leads the field down the backstretch, and is able to put a little bit of distance between her and the second place Slim Trim And Grim. The leader seems to be comfortable at this point while Slim Trim And Grim has no problem tucking in behind her for the backstretch. Starship Twister continues to be in the third spot, running by herself but not pushing to get any closer to the front. In the middle of the pack, there was not any urgency out of Tenrikyo and Widen Your View, either, as they ran side by side. Forever Phooey Party moved into sixth, passing Zombie Storm to the outside. There was still no hurry with Zombie Storm, but hopefully this would not be a repeat of the last race for her where she simply never came on. Table For One could see them all in front of her.

(Top Of Stretch, 1.5F To Go)- At the beginning of the turn, Antiquated Story was looking good still as she pulled away from Slim Trim And Grim. However, midway into the turn, it was clear the the field was catching up to her, and it would be difficult for Antiquated Story to hold on. Starship Twister took over second, and closed her gap, and Tenrikyo was looking very good at the point, with a clear outside lane in front of her. A little further back, Zombie Storm began showing far more interest, first getting by Forever Phooey Party easily and then bearing down on Widen Your View. For now, this was accomplished by following Tenrikyo throughout the turn. Table For One was sitting all by herself in the back.

(Finish- 1:41.86)- Into the stretch, a few of them looked like they could have a good shot at it, but there was simply no one that had the kind of explosive kick that Zombie Storm would have. The way in which she charged up Starship Twister and Tenrikyo, and split right up the middle of them, making them look like they were standing still when they were in fact still running pretty themselves was very impressive. No one else had a chance with her running like this, and she would pick the win by nearly a length. Tenrikyo gets second in a photo with Antiquated Story and the fourth place check goes to Starship Twister, narrowly over Widen Your View. Rounding it out, but all being soundly beaten, were Forever Phooey Party, Table For One, and Slim Trim And Grim.

About The Winner- Zombie Storm, trained by La Canada Racehorses and ridden to victory by J R Leparoux, is a five year old mare by Command The Storm and is out Calypso Magic. She was bred in California as a second quarter two year old by Barcelona Farms and acquired by La Canada Racehorses in private sales for $35.000 in June 2019 with just two races under her belt. Congratulations to the connections! The win is her eleventh in 28 starts, her fifth stake win and fourth graded win, her career earnings are now $1,021.57.

Track: Fast
Time: :23   :46²  1:10¹  1:41⁴

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 3 – 6 Paid 41.90
$1 Trifecta: 3 – 6 – 2 Paid 78.90

Scratched: None

— NS

Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES