Royal Delta rallied to beat Buster's Ready by 2-1/2 lengths in the $250,000 Black-Eyed Susan Stakes on Friday at Pimlico.
The Black-Eyed Susan for 3-year-old fillies is the companion event to the Preakness on Saturday, and kicks off the biggest weekend in Maryland racing.
Jose Lezcano was aboard for trainer Bill Mott as Royal Delta got her third win in four starts. She was fourth in the early stages as Hot Summer, Wyomia and Buster's Ready vied for the lead.
Turning for home, Lezcano took Royal Delta off the rail and she responded eagerly to score her first stakes win.
"We thought she was a nice filly early on but soon realized she was better than we thought," Mott said. "She keeps improving. She just keeps coming and coming."
The time was 1 minute, 49.60 seconds for the 1-1/8 miles on the fast track.
Royal Delta returned $5.60 on a win bet.
