Royal Delta Sells For $8.5 Million, Goldikova to Galileo
| Royal Delta Sells For $8.5 Million, Goldikova to Galileo |
Royal Delta by Empire Maker out of Delta Princess by A.P. Indy, was purchased by Besilu Stables for $8.5 million to conclude a highly charged November 8 session of the Keeneland November breeding stock sale.
The price was the third-highest in Keeneland November history, exceeded only by the $10.5 million for Playful Act in 2007 and the $9 million brought by Ashado in 2005.
The sale of Royal Delta, one of the last horses through the ring during the session, came in an electrically charged atmosphere that reminded many observers of the sales previous to the downturn in the breeding and sales economies.
The filly, fresh off a scintillating victory in the Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic Grade 1, was produced from the multiple grade III winner Delta Princess. Royal Delta was consigned to the Keeneland sale as Hip No. 427 as part of the dispersal of the late Saud bin Khaled’s Palides Investments.
In the Ladies’ Classic, Royal Delta posted her fifth career win in eight starts and extended her earnings to $1,694,600 with the winner’s slice of $1,080,000 and likely sewed up an Eclipse Award. Earlier this year, she won the TVG Alabama Stakes Grade 1 and Black-Eyed Susan Stakes Grade 2.
Also during the November 8 session of the auction, Frank Stronach went to $2.6 million to purchase her dam Delta Princess and Besilu Stables acquired her Smart Strike weanling filly for $1.6 million.
A.P. Indy is proving himself to be a formidable Broodmare Sire and it is exciting that we have much of his blood through (predominantly young stallions) A.P. Answer, A.P. Arrow, Mon Sang and Just As Well currently residing in KZN.
Champion racemare Goldikova has been retired and has been booked to Champion Stallion (and sire of our current Horse-Of-The-Year Igugu) Galileo. She ran a brave fourth in the Breeders’ Cup on Friday, after winning the race 3 times consecutively – which is a record. She won 17 races (of which 14 were Grade 1 status) from 27 starts, only being out of the placings once. Her half-sister Galikova is by Galileo.
Story source www.bloodhorse.com
