Mike Smith is convinced that Royal Delta can maintain her momentum in the Grade 2 Delaware Handicap at Delware Racecourse on Saturday.
The high-class filly finished a disappointing ninth in the Dubai World Cup in March but showed that form was all wrong when winning the Fleur de Lis Handicap by eight lengths at Churchill Downs last month.
Bill Mott's four year old ran a time over a second quicker than stablemate Ron The Greek, on the same card in the Stephen Foster Handicap which is a traditional stepping stone in America for the Dubai World Cup.
"It was incredibly easy for me that night," the Hall of Fame jockey Smith said. "She relaxed really well for me and when I asked her to pick it up she jumped in to the bridle and just drew away – it was really rather impressive. She's even more talented than I thought she was."
It was the first time Smith had ridden the daughter of Empire Maker, the 2003 Belmont Stakes victor, and although stopping short of comparing her with the best he had ridden Smith believed that his mount on Saturday had serious potential.
"She's already proven she's one of the greatest fillies in the country. I'm not going to compare here to Zenyatta or Azeri but she's that kind of horse," he said.
The 46-year-old rider was recently snapped up for ESPN's Body Issue magazine alongside sports stars Daniela Hantuchova, the tennis player, and Carlos Bocanegra, the footballer, and a host of other American sports talent such as Tyson Chandler, the basketball player.
In the magazine Smith is photographed tastefully naked, with only a horse licking his bald head from inside a stable.
"It's an honour to be in such a magazine but my friends are giving me a really hard time about it," he said. "Throughout the years it has been argued that jockeys are among the fittest athletes, pound for pound, and it was an opportunity to show some people that this is the case and we are pretty fit."
Smith will shun the opening Saturday of the lucrative seven-week meeting at Saratoga, which starts tomorrow, to ride Royal Delta, who faces among her rivals Awesome Maria from the Todd Pletcher yard. The seven-week Del Mar meeting started yesterday.
Pletcher is at Saratoga but will ship in and out of Wilmington his Group 1 winner, who defeated Royal Delta by eight lengths in February.
Mott was using the contest at Gulfstream Park merely as a stepping stone to Dubai and Pletcher, who will also run Love And Pride, was mindful of taking Royal Delta's challenge too lightly.
"Awesome Maria has had a really good training programme since her last race," Pletcher, who has won the Delaware four times, said. "Everything has gone to plan and her last two breezes were exceptional. She's ready to perform to her capabilities, which is what she'll need to do with Royal Delta in there.
"When she's on top of her game we reckon she's as good as any mare in the country."
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