Ageless Aims to Repeat in Royal North Stakes

Lael Stables' Ageless will try to win the $150,000 Royal North Stakes (Can-IIIT) for a second straight year when she starts from the outside in the expected field of seven fillies and mares July 26 at Woodbine.

A 6-year-old daughter of Successful Appeal  , Ageless enters off a third-place finish against males in a strong edition of the Jaipur Stakes (gr. III) June 6 at Belmont Park. Like the Jaipur, the Royal North is contested at six furlongs on the turf.

Last year Ageless capped a three-race win streak, all stakes, with a half-length victory over Sky Treasure in the Royal North. Trained by Amaud Delacour, Ageless notched the fourth stakes victory of her career two starts back when, for the second straight year, she won The Very One Stakes on Preakness Stakes day at Pimlico Race Course.

Awaiting Ageless Sunday will be grade II winner Leigh Court, who will be making her first start of the season after finishing last year with a fifth-place finish in the DraftKings Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (gr. I) at Santa Anita Park.

Canada's champion 3-year-old filly of 2013, Leigh Court registered another fine season last year racing for her breeder Eugene Melnyk, winning two of three starts, including the Thoroughbred Club of America Stakes (gr. II) on the dirt at Keeneland. After the season, she sold to current owner Speedway Stable for $1 million at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky November sale as part of a Melnyk dispersal.

In preparing for her return, the daughter of Grand Slam has registered seven strong workouts in June and July on the Arlington International Racecourse Polytrack for trainer Michael Stidham, who takes over from Josie Carroll.

Leigh Court will be making her third career turf start after winning the Ontario Colleen Stakes (Can-IIIT) at Woodbine and finishing fourth in the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Stakes (gr. IT) at Keeneland in her 3-year-old season.

Also on Sunday's card, former claimer Samuel Dechamplain will try for a second straight stakes win on the Woodbine turf in the Toronto Cup Stakes, a 1 1/8-mile race for 3-year-olds, after pulling off a 16-1 upset in the Charlie Barley Stakes July 4.