The second leg of the 2025 Buckeye Stallion Series for freshmen starts Monday, July 21 with six $20,000 USD divisions of filly trotters at MGM Northfield Park.
All five winners from the first leg on July 10 at Eldorado Scioto Downs — Chasingstardust As, Hangtighthoney L, Joyofmylife As, Rose Run Bridget, and Judys Moni — are among the 48 total entries in the second leg.
Rose Run Bridget and Judys Moni will vie for a second BSS victory in the first division. Judys Moni is the early 6-5 favourite and will leave from post two. The Ready For Moni-Reining Flowers filly’s opening-leg victory came in 1:57.2 in what is her lone prior start. Brett Miller was in the sulky that night, but it will be Anthony MacDonald driving for trainer Jason McGinnis on Monday.
Despite her status as a first-leg winner, Rose Run Bridget opened with 15-1 morning line odds. The What The Hill-Explosive Lynn filly will leave from post three. Rose Run Bridget has hit the board in all three starts, adding a second- and third-place finish in the Ohio Sires Stakes to her BSS victory, which came in 2:01.2 with Tyler Smith in the sulky. Trainer Herman Hagerman has tabbed Smith to return to the bike on Monday as they look to make it two-for-two in the BSS.
Mockingbird As (Dan Noble) is the 9-5 second choice in this division and will leave from the rail. In her lone prior start, the Anette Lorentzon-trained daughter of Guardian Angel As-Savanah Dream finished as the runner-up to Judys Moni in the fifth division of the opening leg of the BSS.
Noble will also drive Anette Lorentzon trainees Joyofmylife As and Chasingstardust As, a pair of Guardian Angel As fillies. They are morning line favourites in their respective divisions after posting first-leg wins in their first career purse starts.
Joyofmylife As, out of Josies Joy, was assigned morning line odds of 3-5 in the third division and will leave from post two. She won her opening-leg race in 1:56.4, the fastest time among the five divisions of the BSS that night. Jolene Hall (MacDonald), a third-place finisher in the opening leg, is the 7-2 second choice in the division.
In the fifth division, Chasingstardust As, out of Theres A Way opened at 6-5 odds. Her opening-leg win came in 1:57.4. The 7-2 second choice in the division is Lacy Lucy (Austin Hanners), who will leave from the rail in what will be her second career start.
First-leg winner Hangtighthoney L is the 2-1 second choice in the sixth division with 8-5 favourite Cast No Stones (Aaron Merriman) drawn into post four. Driven by trainer Hank LeVan, Hangtighthoney L won the opening leg in a lifetime-best 1:58.1. The In Range-Mother Lin filly has hit the board in all seven starts this season with six wins and one second. LeVan returns to the sulky on Monday and will leave from post two. Trained by Chris Beaver, Cast No Stones is a Muscle Up The Goal-Bamaslastchance filly who finished as the runner-up to Chasingstardust As in her first career start in the first division of the opening leg of the BSS. Her lifetime best of 2:03 came in a qualifier at Delaware on June 18.
The second and fourth divisions do not feature any first-leg winners. Til The End As (Noble) is the 7-5 morning line favourite in the second division with 9-5 second choice Ladys Lucky Moni (Chris Lems). They finished second and third, respectively, in their divisions of the opening leg of the BSS. In the fourth division, Lindy Princess (Merriman) is the early even-money favourite and will leave from the rail. Dublins Breanna (Hanners) is the 7-2 second choice.
The BSS races are part of a 16-race card at MGM Northfield Park on Monday. First-race post time is 6 p.m.
(Ohio Harness Horseman's Association; photo of Joyofmylife As winning on July 10)