ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Regal Moment, who never fired when sprinting in her season opener, is switching to the more appropriate distance of 1 1/16 miles in Thursday’s Woodbine headliner and is liable to get back on track in the first-level allowance/$40,000 claiming race. A nominee to the July 20 Woodbine Oaks, Regal Moment put together a respectable three-race juvenile campaign under the guidance of trainer Stuart Simon. After racing at the rear of an eight-horse field on the turn in her Oct. 5 debut, she closed furiously to prevail by a head in the seven-furlong maiden event. A month later, Regal Moment moved up to Ontario-sired nonwinners-of-two allowance company, and after pressing a moderate pace, she checked in second with a 67 Beyer Speed Figure. She then helped to set a dawdling pace in the $251,000 Princess Elizabeth Stakes before fading to sixth in the 1 1/16-mile test for Canadian-breds, beaten just 2 3/4 lengths. When returning from a six-month layoff in a 6 1/2-furlong Ontario-sired allowance May 24, Regal Moment raced in seventh throughout in her first start with Lasix. After working five-eighths in a bullet 1:01 on the training track June 14, she gets to stretch her legs out Thursday with Fraser Aebly retaining the mount for owners William and Anne Scott. Beautiful Sky begins just inside Regal Moment from the rail in the six-horse field with Jose Campos up for her second run of the season. A wide trip behind a sleepy pace hindered her chances when a distant fourth while exiting a six-month hiatus in an identical spot June 1. It took her seven races to win for the first time, and she finally turned the trick against $25,000 maidens in December. Patrick Dixon trains the 4-year-old. :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. Nikita’s Gem had a productive 2024 for trainer Sid Attard. Perhaps her best performance was a close fourth in the Nov. 17 Ashbridges Bay Stakes for Ontario-sired sophomore fillies, for which she got a 75 Beyer. Sofia Vives has the call on Nikita’s Gem. The two-time Sovereign Award-winning apprentice was aboard for her maiden win last spring before riding her in two runner-up placings. Just a Gem missed the break when stretching out from seven-eighths to 1 1/16 miles in her disappointing second start off the sidelines June 1. She earned several Beyers in the upper 60s last fall, numbers that put her in the ballpark here. Peace Posey came up empty after saving ground against tougher nonwinners-of-two allowance types and $50,000 claiming 3-year-old fillies in her June 1 comeback. Rounding out the field is Ami’s Girl, who filled out the exacta five times before beating $25,000 maidens on Oct. 24. She was a minor player in both of her starts at this level and didn’t have the smoothest of trips off a six-month break June 1. Post time for the eight-race card is 3 p.m. and the nominal feature goes as the third race at 3:59 p.m. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.