Grove City, OH – Looking back at the night of May 30 at Northfield Park Racino, trainer Vernon Beachy couldn’t have asked for a better result.
“We were living on a high for at least a couple hours there afterwards — it was pretty exciting,” said Beachy, of New Philadelphia, OH.
Two horses from Beachy’s stable — Charlies Moni and Rose Run Brooke — swept the two divisions in the second leg of the Ohio Sires Stakes for sophomore filly trotters that night. They have the chance to match that feat on Thursday (June 18) as Eldorado Scioto Downs hosts two $75,000 divisions of the third leg as part of a 15-race card starting at 5:25 p.m.
Rose Run Brooke (Ronnie Wrenn Jr.) may have the more difficult path of the two. The In Range filly drew post six in the first division, where she opened as the 2-1 favorite, and will have to contend with the likes of first-leg winners Godusa (Mike Wilder) and Faster Horses (Jeremy Smith). Godusa edged Rose Run Brooke by half a length in 1:53.3 in a leg of the OSS last year.
“In the first leg last year, Godusa and Rose Run Brooke went right down to the wire, so they’re both nice fillies,” Beachy said.
“And there are some other nice fillies in that race (on Thursday) as well.”
In her 2-year-old season, Rose Run Brooke tallied two wins and four seconds in nine starts and earned $186,385. She got off to an inauspicious start with a seventh-place finish in the Next Generation but improved as the season progressed. Finishes of second, fourth, and second followed before she got her first win, doing so in the third leg of the OSS at Northfield on Aug. 10. Her second victory came in the Ohio Breeders Championship at Delaware on Sept. 15, and she closed out her freshman campaign with a runner-up finish to eventual 2-Year-Old Filly Trotter of the Year Setyoursightshigh in the OSS Scarlet Championship.
“She was a solid filly all year, and I was really happy with her at the final,” Beachy said. “She’s been a really nice filly ever since we broke her.”
Rose Run Brooke got out to another uninspiring start this year, finishing eighth in the James K. Hackett Memorial and third in the opening leg of the OSS, both at Miami Valley Raceway. However, Beachy attributed those performances to some health issues, and the filly has rebounded nicely. She enters Thursday coming off two straight wins — one in an overnight race at The Meadows and the other in gate-to-wire fashion in the second leg of the OSS in a lifetime-best 1:55.4.
“She got the lead and finished strongly,” Beachy said of that OSS win. “She looked like she could’ve went a little bit more, but she did everything that was asked of her, and I was really happy with her.”
Godusa wasn’t in the field that night but will look to contend for the win on Thursday leaving from post four as the 4-1 second choice on the morning line. Trained by Nancy Takter, the Ready For Moni filly took a win in the opening leg in 1:55.4 in her lone start of the season thus far and has three victories and $99,850 in earnings in nine career starts. The other first-leg winner, Faster Horses, drew the far outside post and opened with 7-1 odds. The Chris Beaver trainee is a Muscle Up The Goal filly with three wins in six seasonal starts.
Despite some tough competition, Beachy likes Rose Run Brooke’s chances of coming out on top.
“Her biggest enemy is going to be herself,” he said. “If she behaves, I think she’s as good as any other horse.”
In the second division, Charlies Moni (Chris Lems) opened as the 7-2 favorite and will leave from the rail. The Ready For Moni filly is off to a promising start this season with three wins in four starts and $86,000 in earnings. She has already tripled her win total and nearly doubled her earnings from her freshman campaign, earning praise from Beachy as “a nice little surprise” after winning the Hackett Memorial in a lifetime mark of 1:53.2 earlier this season. She rebounded nicely from an eighth-place finish in the opening leg of the OSS with a win in the second leg in 1:55.4.
“She just keeps surprising me,” Beachy said. “The expectations have grown now that she’s proven that she’s a talented and fast filly.”
The morning line points to Demonic Niko (Wrenn Jr.), the 4-1 second choice, as Charlies Moni’s top competition on Thursday. Trained by Erv Miller, the In Range filly has a best finish of third in three starts in 2026 after posting a record of 7-2-1 and earnings of $277,260 in 10 starts as a freshman. Setyoursightshigh (Wilder) is also in the second division. The In Range filly recorded seven wins and four seconds in 11 starts as a freshman, banking $678,159. The Marcus Melander trainee has a best finish of second in two starts this year and holds a lifetime mark of 1:53.1. She opened with 9-2 odds and will leave from post seven.
It’s another competitive field, but Beachy is optimistic about Charlies Moni faring well.
“If she minds her manners, she should be fine,” he said.
If she and Rose Run Brooke can match their finishes from the second leg, Beachy has another exciting night in store.
“I try not to put the cart before the horse, but that would be really cool,” he said.
For more information:
Wes Mayberry
wmayberry@ohha.com
614-221-3650
The Ohio Harness Horsemen’s Association (OHHA) is a non-profit organization serving Standardbred horse owners, breeders, trainers, drivers, and fans who participate in the sport of harness racing in the Buckeye State.
OHHA was founded in 1953. The mission of the Ohio Harness Horsemen’s Association is to preserve, protect, promote, and serve the entire Standardbred industry in Ohio and beyond.