Two years ago, Allegiant gave trainer Vernon Beachy his first trip to the Hambletonian Oaks at The Meadowlands. Now, he hopes Victorianas Secret can get him to the Grade 1 event for three-year-old female trotters a second time.
Victorianas Secret has won four of five races this season as she prepares for the $100,000 USD Moni Maker Stakes (Grade 3) for sophomore filly trotters on Saturday, July 18 at Eldorado Scioto Downs. Her most recent victory was on June 25 in a division of the Currier & Ives Stakes at Hollywood Casino at The Meadows, where she defeated Ginger Tree Lex by a neck in 1:53.1. Her only loss was a second-place finish behind Jailbird Jog in the $410,959 Oak Grove Trotting Oaks on May 16 at Oak Grove Racing & Gaming.
She will start the Moni Maker from post four in a field of seven, with regular driver Ronnie Wrenn Jr. in the sulky for Beachy and owner Ryan Smith of Dennison, Ohio. She is the 8-5 morning line favourite. Ginger Tree Lex, starting from post two with Andrew McCarthy driving for trainer Sam Beegle, is the 5-2 second choice.
“I know we haven’t had her in a lot of big stakes races or brought her out to The Meadowlands to go against some of those fillies out there, but [the Hambletonian Oaks] is what we've been prepping her for all year,” said Beachy, who is based in Ohio.
“We kind of mapped her schedule around going to Oak Grove early, so I didn’t want to over-race going into August. I thought it would be better to keep her close to home and try not to put as many trailer miles on her. If everything goes good Saturday, the Oaks is the goal.”
The Moni Maker is one of four $100,000 USD, Grade 3 events at Scioto Downs on Saturday, along with the Nadia Lobell for three-year-old female pacers, Cleopatra Invitational for older female pacers and #SendItIn Invitational for older male pacers. Racing begins at 5:25 p.m., with the graded stakes going as races 11-14.
Victorianas Secret, a daughter of Tactical Landing-Victoriana, was purchased by Smith for $43,243 at the 2024 Lexington Selected Yearling Sale. For her career, she has hit the board in 10 of 13 races, with five wins and $267,864 in earnings. Last year, she won a Kentucky Sire Stakes leg at Oak Grove and finished second to eventual Dan Patch Award winner Setyoursightshigh in the $142,466 final there.
“I wish she was easier to manage, but she’s a big, strong filly, and she’s got a lot of speed,” said Beachy. “She’s strong-willed and can get pretty hot pretty quickly. At two, she couldn’t relax on the front and just wore herself out. At the start of this year, we were playing with a lot of rigging and I feel we’ve zoned in on that a lot better lately. I feel like she’s heading in the right direction at the right time. She's got a lot of talent, it’s just if she puts it together [on race days] to display it.”
Victorianas Secret is one of three Hambletonian Oaks eligibles in the Moni Maker, with Nancy Takter-trained Godusa and Ron Burke-trained Atlantic Summer. The Hambletonian Oaks final, as well as the Grade 1 Hambletonian final, will take place on Aug. 8 at The Meadowlands. Eliminations, if necessary, for both races are Aug. 1.
In 2024, Beachy watched Allegiant – also owned by Smith – win her Hambletonian Oaks elimination and finish third in the $729,167 final a week later.
“To be able to point two fillies in the same direction in just a few years’ time, a lot of people don’t get to do that,” said Beachy. “A lot of people hope for just one of those horses in their lifetime.
“We’ll see what happens when it gets to that time, but I think I can enjoy this one more having been there before. We’ve had all the nerves and the stress of it. It was kind of a whirlwind. To have the opportunity to do it again, to be part of it, I think you learn to slow down and appreciate it more.”
Allegiant, who won the 2024 Moni Maker in her next start after winning the Currier & Ives, spent the end of her three-year-old season on the East Coast with trainer Linda Toscano. She won the Grade 1 Breeders Crown for three-year-old filly trotters at The Meadowlands and the Grade 2 Matron Stakes at Bally’s Dover before finishing second to six-year-old Nelsonbriteagle NO in the Grade 2 FanDuel Championship for female trotters at the Big M. At the end of the year, she received divisional Dan Patch Award honours.
Swedish owners bought Allegiant, who earned $1.35 million during her career in North America, for $1,321,429 at the 2024 North American Standardbred Mixed Sale. Since then, the mare has risen to stardom overseas, most notably winning this year’s Elitloppet in a world record 1:48 at Stockholm’s Solvalla Racecourse.
Beachy watches all of Allegiant’s races, either live or through replays.
“It’s pretty incredible; I was a big part of that horse’s life,” said Beachy. “It’s pretty rewarding to see what she’s doing now. It’s surreal that a guy like me had a horse like that at one point.”
For free Scioto Downs past performances, click here.
(USTA; photo of Victorianas Secret winning on June 25 at The Meadows)