Delta (1946–1960) was a champion Australian

thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are ...

racehorse who raced from a two-year-old to a six year-old from distances of 6 furlongs to 2 miles. Champion jockey Neville Sellwood won 22 races including the 1949

VRC Derby The Victoria Derby, also known as the Penfolds Victoria Derby, is a Victoria Racing Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held under Set Weights conditions over a distance of 2,500 metres at Flemington Racecourse, in Melbourn ...

, 1949

Cox Plate The W. S. Cox Plate is a Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race for horses aged three years old and over under Weight for age conditions, over a distance of 2040 metres (approximately 1m 2f), that is held by the Moonee Valley Racing Club at Moo ...

and the 1951

Melbourne Cup The Melbourne Cup is a Thoroughbred horse race held in Melbourne, Australia. It is a 3200-metre race for three-year-olds and over, conducted by the Victoria Racing Club on the Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne, Victoria as part of the Melb ...

. Neville Sellwood was also the regular jockey of the champions Tulloch and

Todman Todman (7 October 1954 – 1976) was one of the greatest Australian Thoroughbred racehorses and an important sire. He was perhaps best known as the winner of the inaugural STC Golden Slipper in 1957, being the first of Star Kingdom's five su ...

. Purchased by owner Adolph Basser for £2,665 at the 1948 Sydney yearling sales he was trained by former jockey and successful trainer Maurice McCarten. He died at Widden Stud in 1960.

Breeding

Delta by Midstream (GB) was bred by studmaster Percy Miller at Kia-Ora stud

Scone, New South Wales Scone is a town in the Upper Hunter Shire in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia. At the 2006 census, Scone had a population of 5,624 people. It is on the New England Highway north of Muswellbrook about 270 kilometres north of Sydn ...

. Dam Gazza also produced classic winners Deep River 1952

AJC Derby AJC may refer to: * Agreement on Journey Continuation, an agreement between European rail operators to allow passengers in case of a missed connection * Allen Jack+Cottier (AJ+C), an architectural practice * American Jewish Committee, an advocacy ...

and Midway 1951 VRC St Leger.

Racing career

Delta raced between 1949 -1952 for five seasons winning 7 major races in succession between 1951 - 1952 including a rare triple win in the Chelmsford Stakes also defeated the great champions

Hydrogen Hydrogen is the chemical element with the symbol H and atomic number 1. Hydrogen is the lightest element. At standard conditions hydrogen is a gas of diatomic molecules having the formula . It is colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic ...

and

Dalray Dalray was a notable New Zealand thoroughbred horse, racehorse who won the 1952 Melbourne Cup and LKS Mackinnon Stakes, Mackinnon Stakes. Dalray was also famously a ‘certainty’ beaten in the 1952 Sydney Cup. When his owner was quizzed abou ...

. As a six-year-old Delta defeated the champion

in the 1952 Chelmsford Stakes setting an Australasian record for the nine furlongs. This was his last start as soon after injury problems forced his retirement. Delta's racing colours were Brown and dark blue hoops, red cap. Owner Sir Adolf Basser (1887 - 1964) was a optician, jeweller and philanthropist from Sydney was interested in scientific and medical research and in 1959 founded the

Basser College, University of New South Wales Basser College, University of New South Wales is a residential college at the University of New South Wales in Sydney. Basser College and its two neighbouring Colleges, Goldstein and Phillip Baxter, are collectively known as the Kensington Co ...

Kensington, Sydney. Delta's racing record: 41 starts for 22 wins, 6 seconds, 2 thirds.

1951 racebook

File:1951 AJC Randwick Plate Racebook P1.jpg, 1951 Randwick Plate racebook front cover. File:1951 AJC Randwick Plate Racebook P2.jpg, 1951 Randwick Plate showing race day officials File:1951 AJC Randwick Plate Racebook P3.jpg, 1951 Randwick Plate racebook showing race conditions File:1951 AJC Randwick Plate Racebook P4.jpg, 1951 Randwick Plate showing Delta placed 2nd.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Delta Melbourne Cup winners Cox Plate winners Victoria Derby winners 1946 racehorse births 1960 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in Australia Racehorses trained in Australia Australian Racing Hall of Fame horses Thoroughbred family 1-i

Breeding

Racing career

1951 racebook

See also

References