text: Lots of sentiment riding with Royal Delta - Times Union
  https://www.timesunion.com/sports/article/Lots-of-sentiment-riding-with-Royal-Delta-2123185.php
  Lots of sentiment riding with Royal Delta
  Trainer Mott hopes filly wins for late owner, a Saudi royal
  Published 7:20 am EDT, Friday, August 19, 2011
  Race winner Parker's Project with jockey Darren Nagel jumps the final fence of The National Steeplechase Association J.P. Morgan Hurdle at the Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. Aug. 18, 2011. (Skip Dickstein / Times Union) less
  Race winner Parker's Project with jockey Darren Nagel jumps the final fence of The National Steeplechase Association J.P. Morgan Hurdle at the Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. Aug. 18, 2011. ... more
  Baltic Shore and jockey William McCarthy are seperated after a fall on the final fence of The National Steeplechase Association J.P. Morgan Hurdle at the Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. Aug. 18, 2011. (Skip Dickstein / Times Union) less
  Baltic Shore and jockey William McCarthy are seperated after a fall on the final fence of The National Steeplechase Association J.P. Morgan Hurdle at the Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. Aug. 18, ... more
  Trainer H. Graham Motion speaks to the Times Union at the Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. Aug. 18, 2011 for Wikin column to run Sunday Aug 21st. (Skip Dickstein / Times Union)
  Alabama Stakes entrant Royal Delta in her stall at trainer William Mott's barn on the Oklahoma Training Center in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. Aug 18, 2011. FOR SINGLAIS STORY. (Skip Dickstein / Times Union)
  Trainer Linda Rice speaks to the Times Union at the Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. Aug. 18, 2011 for Wikin column to run Sunday Aug 28st. (Skip Dickstein / Times Union)
  Jockey Alex Solis guides Compliance Officer to the win in the 32nd running of The West Point at the Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. Aug. 18, 2011. (Skip Dickstein / Times Union)
  SARATOGA SPRINGS -- Bill Mott couldn't remember when he started training horses for Prince Saud bin Khalid. That's how far back they went.
  Suffice it to say, it was long enough that Mott conditioned three generations of fillies for the Saudi royal, who died in January following an illness.
  First they raced Lyphard's Delta, who gave birth to Delta Princess, who in turn foaled Royal Delta, a 3-year-old filly who will run for Mott in the Grade I Alabama at Saratoga Race Course on Saturday.
  "I was very fond of Mr. Khalid," Mott said. "He was not only an owner, he was a friend."
  Royal Delta will run under the green-and-white silks of Prince Saud in the $500,000 Alabama, but not for much longer. She's going on sale at Keeneland in November when Prince Saud's estate completely disperses his racing stock, broodmares and weanlings.
  With that in mind, Mott said that beyond the usual incentives, he has sentimental reasons for wanting Royal Delta to prevail in the Alabama.
  Today's feature: The Yaddo, $100,000, fillies and mares 3 & up, 11/6 miles on turf
  Morning-line favorite: Gitchee Goomie, 2-1
  Forecast: Isolated thunderstorms, high 84 degrees
  Attendance: 18,469 To date: 511,797
  Feature winner, odds: Compliance Officer, seen above with Alex Solis, The West Point, 4-1
  Paid: $10.00, $6.30, $4.20
  "It would mean a lot to have the filly win, and to have the filly run in his colors is great," Mott said.
  She runs under Prince Saud's racing name of Palides Investments N.V. Inc. She was also bred by him in Kentucky.
  Royal Delta is listed at 6-1 on the morning line for the Alabama, tied for the longest odds in the six-horse field.
  Her chances might seem slim because she's running against 9-5 favorite It's Tricky and 2-1 choice Plum Pretty, who both beat Royal Delta easily in the Coaching Club American Oaks at the Spa last month.
  Royal Delta came in a distant third, 71/4 lengths behind winner It's Tricky, who outdueled Plum Pretty by a three-quarters of a length.
  That didn't discourage Mott from taking another shot at both fillies in the 11/4-mile Alabama, which is an eighth of a mile longer than the Coaching Club American Oaks.
  "They beat us last time, but we hope we've improved," Mott said. "We hope we run a better race. We're going to have to run a better race. I don't think our filly ran her best race last time."
  She was coming off an impressive win in the Grade II Black-Eyed Susan at Pimlico on May 20. But a bruised foot kept her out of racing for two months, and Mott said that inactivity showed in the Coaching Club American Oaks.
  Royal Delta sat in fourth place at the three-eighths pole, five lengths behind the leader, which is true to her running style. But she lacked a strong finishing kick.
  "It was a long layoff and she was a little anxious in the race," Mott said. "She didn't settle well ... And she was a little strong with her rider (Jose Lezcano) early on and I think it compromised her finish later on."
  Royal Delta has had two solid breezes since then, and the added distance could help her. She's a daughter of Empire Maker, who won the 2004 Belmont Stakes at 11/2 miles.
  Oddly enough, Royal Delta's mother was a stakes-winning turf horse, which would have made her daughter a logical candidate for the grass. Mott said Royal Delta might still race on the turf in the future.
  But Royal Delta's dirt works were impressive as a 2-year-old, and she won her debut by 12 lengths on the main track at Belmont last Oct. 30.
  "I don't think we were absolutely surprised she won, but she just kept drawing away and I said, 'Whoa,' " Mott recalled.
  That race had Prince Saud excited, according to Mott, but he never saw her run another race. He died before she returned to the track in Florida in March.