Grand River: Battle of Waterloo, Battle of the Belles elims in the books

The stage is set for next Monday afternoon's Battle of Waterloo and Battle of the Belles for Ontario-sired 2-year-old pacers after two eliminations for each event took place tonight.

Betterhavemymoney (James MacDonald) improved to three-for-three in his career by winning the second C$15,000 Battle of Waterloo elim for the colts and geldings in 1:54 2/5. Twin B Raptor (Trevor Henry) was able to get around Betterhavemymoney for the top spot before the 27 4/5 opening quarter, but MacDonald sent his charge to the point after that marker and went on to a half in 57 1/5 and a three-quarters in 1:26 1/5 before pulling away to win by 4 1/2 lengths. Twin B Raptor held second, Stone Carver (Mike Saftic) rallied from sixth to third in the last quarter, and Stews Watching (Sylvain Filion) got fourth despite being two-wide throughout.

A Betterthancheddar-Whosluckierthanme gelding, Betterhavemymoney is trained by Nick Gallucci for owner/breeder Millar Farms. Betterhavemymoney has earned C$110,500 to go with his perfect record, and he paid $2.90 to win as the favorite.

The other Battle of Waterloo elim went to Erinwood Yves (Jody Jamieson) in 1:55 1/5. Erinwood Yves stalked pace-setter Century Inspector (Tyler Moore) from the pocket through stations of 27 4/5, 57 1/5, and 1:26 3/5, then got up late in the passing lane to tally by a head. Ron (Louis-Phillippe Roy) was third from first-over, and Sports Box (Henry) finished fourth after a second-over journey.

Erinwood Yves, a State Treasurer-Zayra Bayama colt, is trained by Gabby Sasso for owners Erinwood Equine Inc., Jeffrey Courchesne, and Martwest Racing Stable. Erinwood Yves, who was bred by Bayama Farms Inc. and sold for C$12,000 at the Ontario Selected Yearling Sale, broke his maiden in his third chance and has now pocketed C$45,306. He was the favorite and returned $4.80 to win.

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In the first C$10,000 Battle of the Belles elimination for the fillies, Cheryls Shadow (MacDonald) posted a quarter of 27 4/5 and a half of 57 2/5, but Love That Smile (Roy) moved first-over from third going to the half, and she would move up to race nose-to-nose with Cheryls Shadow to the 1:25 three-quarters. On the far turn Love That Smile was able to wear down Cheryls Shadow, and then she paced away to tally by 3 1/2 lengths in 1:54 2/5, equaling the track record for the division. Cheryls Shadow did save second, with Marykeeponburnin (Jamieson) and Rhone Hanover (Mike Whelan) also going on to the final.

Trainer Rene Bourassa also co-owns Love That Smile, a daughter of Sportswriter-Smileallthewayhome, with partners M&S Racing Stable Inc., Gilles Caouette, and Marc Gelinas. Love That Smile, who has a pair of wins and a second from four trips behind the gate and a bankroll of C$25,483, was bred by William MacKay, David Serwatuk, and Robin Watts. She was the even-money choice and paid $4.00 to win.

Warrawee Xpat (Jamieson) bagged the second Battle of the Belles elimination on the engine in 1:55 4/5. She stepped off stations of 27 4/5, 58 1/5, and 1:27 2/5, then used a 28 2/5 final kicker to defeat pocket-sitter Speak Your Mind (Moore) by a length. Big Bettor Hanover (Saftic) and Dewitt For Josie (Roy) completed the top four.

The victorious daughter of Sportswriter-Greenwich Girl is trained by Sasso for owners Jeffrey Courchesne and Martwest Racing Stable. Warrawee Xpat, bred by Warrawee Farm and Julie Yager, fetched C$6,000 as HIP 1 in the 2020 Ontario Selected Yearling Sale, and she has won twice from three attempts and put away C$18,908. She was the 5-2 second choice and returned $7.40 to win.

The post draws for next Monday afternoon's finals are as follows:

Battle of Waterloo
1-Century Inspector
2-Sports Box
3-Erinwood Yves
4-Stone Carver
5-Betterhavemymoney
6-Ron
7-Stews Watching
8-Nassau Hanover
9-Twin B Raptor

Battle of the Belles
1-Love That Smile
2-Big Bettor Hanover
3-Warrawee Xpat
4-Speak Your Mind
5-Cheryls Shadow
6-Stonebridge Thalia
7-Dewitt For Josie
8-Rhone Hanover
9-Marykeeponburnin