Faster Horses Seeks 2-for-2 Start in OSS as Northfield Hosts Second Leg for Sophomore Fillies
By Wes Mayberry
Faster Horses has gotten faster.
“She kind of put it together towards the end of last year, but she got super aggressive and would kind of wear herself out,” trainer Chris Beaver said. “We trained her all winter, and now she’s learned to get off the gate good.”
Faster Horses is a homebred for Beaver, who co-owns the filly with Carolina Ortiz Acosta, Steven Zeehandelar, and Leo Fleming. The 3-year-old Muscle Up The Goal filly out of Fantasia Flurry hit the board six times in 10 starts as a freshman last year, recording two wins and $29,400 in earnings. Five starts into her sophomore campaign, she’s been even better.
“I’ve always had a lot of faith in her,” Beaver said. “She didn’t do a lot as a 2-year-old, but she made me think she was a good horse. She has a lot of natural speed and is big and strong.”
Going into the second leg of the Ohio Sires Stakes for sophomore fillies on Saturday (May 30) at Northfield Park Racino, Faster Horses has hit the board in all five seasonal starts with three wins and $70,750 in earnings. She already has an OSS win to her credit, taking a division of the first leg on May 2 at Miami Valley Raceway despite a run-in with a goose. She led at the quarter in :27.1 and tripped the wire in 1:55.4.
“She ran over a goose down the backstretch, and she kept trotting, and I was super impressed with how she kept her composure through all that,” Beaver said. “I typically don’t like to see one go the first quarter that she did — I thought that would make her get weak at the end and that she would get passed late in the mile. But she’s learned to carry her speed. She impressed me that day — very few horses would run over a goose and keep trotting and still have the stamina to win the race after a fast first quarter.”
With regular driver Aaron Merriman out due to injury, Jeremy Smith will be in the sulky on Saturday looking to guide Faster Horses to a 2-for-2 start in the OSS. Despite her success thus far, Faster Horses opened as the 9-2 fourth choice in the first of two $75,000 divisions for sophomore filly trotters and will start from the far outside alongside 5-2 morning line favorite Demonic Niko (Dan Noble) in post six. The seven-horse field also includes 2026 James K. Hackett Memorial final winner Charlies Moni (Chris Lems), who will leave from the rail. It’s a competitive field, but Beaver believes Faster Horses has what it takes to win coming off a victory in a lifetime-best 1:55.1 at Eldorado Scioto Downs on May 21 with Smith in the bike.
“She’s the fourth choice, but if she drew the rail, she’d be the favorite,” he said. “She’s pretty tough to beat off the gate, so the seven hole might not be as big a problem as it looks.”
Beaver is also the co-breeder, owner, and trainer of Cast No Stones (Trevor Smith), who opened as a 20-1 longshot in Saturday’s second division of filly trotters. Another Muscle Up The Goal filly, she scored her first career victory on May 12 at Eldorado Scioto Downs in 1:56.4 and has $37,440 in lifetime earnings.
“I saw glimpses last year that she could be a real nice horse, and she’s come back a lot better this year,” Beaver said. “She’s a longshot to win, but she’s not outclassed.”
Cast No Stones will leave from post five next to 2-1 morning line favorite Rose Run Brooke (Ronnie Wrenn Jr.) in post four. Trained by Vernon Beachy, Rose Run Brooke recorded a third-place finish in the opening leg of the OSS.
Sophomore Filly Pacers
Northfield is also hosting two $75,000 divisions of sophomore filly pacers on Saturday.
She’safirewoman (Brett Miller), the 2025 Ohio 2-Year-Old Filly Pacer of the Year, will leave from the rail as the 9-5 morning line favorite in the first division. The daughter of Catch The Fire out of Shesasmokinlady is looking to improve upon a third-place finish in her seasonal debut in the opening leg of the OSS. Trained by Mark Winters, She’safirewoman recorded eight wins and two second-place finishes while banking $246,576 in 10 starts during her freshman campaign. Estuary (Noble) opened as the 5-2 second choice and will leave from post four. The Downbytheseaside filly trained by Erv Miller has hit the board twice with one win in three seasonal starts.
Kb Wrecking Ball (Noble) is the 9-5 morning line favorite in the second division. A winner in this year’s Hackett Memorial finals, the Deborah Swartz trainee has hit the board in all eight seasonal starts with six wins after not racing as a freshman. The Fool Me Once filly recorded a third-place finish in the opening leg of the OSS and has banked $89,125 thus far. She will leave from post two alongside first-leg winner Vanna By The River (Jordan Stratton) at the rail. Vanna By The River opened as the 4-1 third choice behind 5-2 second choice Seaside Shuffle (Wrenn Jr.). Trained by Ron Burke, Seaside Shuffle won the OSS Scarlet Championship for 2-year-old filly pacers in 2025 and has one win in three starts as a sophomore.
The four OSS events are part of a 15-race card at Northfield Park on Saturday. First-race post time is 6 p.m.
Photo: Faster Horses (Conrad Photo)