Grand River: Betterhavemymoney wins thrilling Battle of Waterloo final

Betterhavemymoney and Erinwood Yves traded blows in a rousing rendition of the C$251,050 Battle of Waterloo final for 2-year-old Ontario-sired colt and gelding pacers at Grand River Raceway, and Betterhavemymoney was able to hold on determinedly to get the victory in a final time of 1:52 4/5.

Starting from posts five and three, respecitvely, Betterhavemymoney (James MacDonald) and Erinwood Yves (Jody Jamieson) rocketed off the gate and then were side-by-side all the way to the 26 2/5 opening quarter, where Erinwood Yves finally relented and yielded for the pocket.

After he got to the front, Betterhavemymoney was able to back down the tempo to 54 4/5 and 1:24 in the middle-half, with Erinwood Yves continuing to stalk him from the two-hole. Behind them, Century Inspector (Tyler Moore) tried a first-over move out of third passing three-quarters, but he stalled out and then faded on the last turn, leaving Betterhavemymoney and Erinwood Yves in a virtual match race.

Jamieson had Erinwood Yves out and on the attack before the pacers entered the lane, and he put in a great charge to the wire, but Betterhavemymoney dug in gamely and resolutely on the inside and was able to fend him off, winning by a head. Century Inspector, Stews Watching (Sylvain Filion), and Stone Carver (Mike Saftic) completed the top-five finishers.

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"It's everything about him, like I can't pinpoint one thing. He showed his gate speed today, and I've never had to use it before," MacDonald said about Betterhavemymoney. "He'll come off a helmet like a bullet, you can take him back and he'll settle right in. He's built like a 5-year-old and has the maturity of a 10-year-old. It just shows all the work they've put in and it's paid off. It's just making my job a lot of fun. I enjoy coming to the track every night to drive horses like this.

"There's no layups in this business. I knew I'd be heavy favorite, but I thought if Jody got off the gate well, he would be more than content to follow me, but he was going to make sure he made the pay the price. I'd have done the same thing. (Erinwood Yves) raced terrific today because I think the world of my horse, and he got stretched hard, and I had to push him, and he was right there at the wire. I didn't even know if I won when we hit the wire. It's a great race, it's fun to be a part of, and I'm happy to end up in the winner's circle."

A Betterthancheddar-Whosluckierthanme gelding, Betterhavemymoney is trained by Nick Gallucci for owner/breeder Millar Farms. Betterhavemymoney has earned C$236,025 to go with perfect four-for-four record, and he paid $2.80 to win as the 4-5 favorite.