Royal Delta and To Honor and Serve worked Oct. 23, on the main track at Churchill Downs for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott.
Royal Delta is being aimed to the Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic (gr. I) Nov. 4, and To Honor and Serve is scheduled to contest the Breeders’ Cup Classic (gr. I) Nov. 5. Both races are at Churchill.
Working first was Palides Investments N.V.’s Royal Delta, with exercise rider Rodolphe Brisset up. Winner of the Alabama (gr. I) and runner-up in the Beldame Invitational (gr. I) in her most recent start, Royal Delta covered five furlongs in 1:02 3/5 with fractions of :14, :27, :38 3/5, :50 2/5, out six furlongs in 1:15 1/5 and seven-eighths in 1:29 4/5. The five-furlong move was the 23rd fastest of 47 at the distance over a fast track.
Brisset then came out with Live Oak Plantation’s To Honor and Serve and the Pennsylvania Derby (gr. II) winner covered five furlongs in 1:02, the 14th fastest of 47 at the distance. Fractions for the work were :13 2/5, :25 2/5, :37 4/5 and :49 3/5 with out times of 1:15 3/5 for six furlongs and 1:31 for seven-eighths.
Mott, who has saddled six Breeders’ Cup winners including Unrivaled Belle in last year’s Ladies’ Classic, liked the works.
“Royal Delta finished up well and galloped out good,” he said. “She progressed as the work went on and her last three-eighths was in 35 and change. She moves well over the track.
"To Honor and Serve worked very well. He has had two nice works here, and it looks like he moves well over the track.”
Courageous Cat , runner-up to Goldikova in the 2010 TVG Breeders’ Cup Mile (gr. IT) and a neck away from being unbeaten in three starts this year, is scheduled to work on the grass Oct. 24.
“This is where I want to be,” said Mott, who has been at Churchill Downs nearly two weeks. “All the horses are doing well, but then they have to do it in the afternoon. I have a good feeling. They are all eating well and moving well over the track.”
