An army of freshmen pacers marched into battle at Grand River Raceway on Monday evening, as the half-mile oval hosted eliminations for the Battle of Waterloo and the Battle of the Belles

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The top three finishers from each of the eliminations will earn the right to race in the rich finals for both events during the 20th edition of Industry Day on Monday, August 2.

Here’s a recap of what transpired in the elims:

Battle of Waterloo (2-Year-Old Pacing Colts)

Some Mach Some Win was carefully handled in his first two starts at Mohawk, but he was aggressively handled by driver Chris Christoforou en route to a 1:56 score in the first elimination. The Colin Johnson-trained son of Mach Three-Town Jiffy laid down fractions of :28.1, :59 and 1:27.4 before sprinting home in :28.1 to defeat race favourite Mystician (Jody Jamieson) and Machal Jackson (Luc Ouellette).

Johnson shares ownership on the colt, who was a $30,000 purchase from last year’s Canadian Open Yearling Sale, with partners Arthur Slack, George Harrison and Fred Brayford.

Mach It Big had little problem delivering on his 2-5 pari-mutuel promise for driver Mark MacDonald and trainer Carl Jamieson. MacDonald marched the son of Mach Three-Belinda Hanover through fractions of :28.2, :59.3 and 1:29.1 before powering home in :27.4 for the 1:57 decision. Watermelonwine (Rick Zeron) was second best and Grand Master (Jody Jamieson) was third.

Purchased for $42,000 from last year’s Canadian Open Yearling Sale by Carl Jamieson of Princeton and Tom Kyron of Toronto, ON, Mach It Big is now a perfect 3-for-3 to start his career. He bumped his lifetime earnings to $41,500 with the win.

Prodigal Seelster pulled off a mild upset by winning his elimination for driver Jody Jamieson and trainer Dave Menary in 1:55. It was a maiden-breaking win for the son of Camluck-Platinum Seelster, who fended off a hard-closing Kyron (Rick Zeron) after hauling down the pacesetting favourite, Bullet Speed (Paul MacDonell).

The colt, who was a $60,000 purchase from last year’s Forest City Yearling Sale, is owned by Larry Menary, Denis Breton, Kenneth Ewen and Double Or Nothing Stables of Ontario.

The top three finishers from each of Monday’s eliminations will return to Grand River Raceway on the afternoon of Monday, August 2 for the final. Here’s how the field will line up on the starting gate:

$300,000 Battle of Waterloo
1. Prodigal Seelster
2. Mystician
3. Machal Jackson
4. Kyron
5. Mach It Big
6. Some Mach Some Win
7. Grand Master
8. Watermelonwine
9. Bullet Speed

Battle of the Belles (2-Year-Old Pacing Fillies)

Village Janus went coast-to-coast in the opening elimination for the tandem of driver Mark MacDonald and trainer Rod Therres, who co-owns the daughter of Modern Art-Village Jest with Larry Schmidt of Abbotsford, BC. She crossed over from post three and threw down fractions of :28.4, :59.1 and 1:27.3 before using a :29.1 final frame to win in 1:56.4. Shipps Xanadu (Chris Christoforou) grabbed the runner-up award, while Lisas Luck (Jody Jamieson) held on for the show dough after doing the first-over work.

Purchased for $21,000 at last year’s Canadian Open Yearling Sale, Village Janus in now 3-for-3 to start her career.

Bunkhouse Babe turned on the jets in the stretch for driver Steve Condren and used that kick to chase down race favourite Modern Connection (Doug McNair) en route to a 1:56.2 score. Lyons Puddin Pie (Jody Jamieson) finished third. It was a maiden-breaking win for the daughter of Royal Mattjesty-Bunker To Bunker, who hangs her harness bag in the barn of trainer Bob McIntosh.

Bred and owned by Winbak Farm of Chesapeake City, MD, Bunkhouse Babe improved her rookie record to 1-1-1 in three starts.

Lyons Carrie disappointed as the favourite in the $130,000 O.S.S. Gold Series Final at Grand River Raceway on July 12, but she redeemed herself with a 1:57 in her Battle of the Belles elimination on Monday evening for driver Jody Jamieson and trainer Shawn Robinson. The daughter of Camluck-Odds On Stienam enjoyed a pocket trip behind Mach Lady (Mark MacDonald) through fractions of :28, :58.2 and 1:27.3 before accelerating past the foe in the passing lane en route to the win. Mach Lady stayed for second, and Blue Monster (Phil Hudon) recovered from an early miscue to finish third. Blue Monster was later placed sixth for causing interference while on the break. Imagine Semalu (Rick Zeron) was fourth-placed-third.

Geoffrey Lyons Mound of Burford, ON owns the filly, who now owns a 2-1-0 record in the first four starts of her career. Purchased for $38,000 at last year’s Forest City Yearling Sale, Lyons Carrie has banked exactly $38,000 to date.

The top three finishers from each of Monday’s eliminations will return to Grand River Raceway on the afternoon of Monday, August 2 for the final. Here’s how the field will line up on the starting gate:

$150,000 Battle of the Belles
1. Mach Lady
2. Lisas Luck
3. Village Janus
4. Bunkhouse Babe
5. Lyons Carrie
6. Modern Connection
7. Imagine Semalu
8. Lyons Puddin Pie
9. Shipps Xanadu

First-race post time for Industry Day on August 2 is 2:00 p.m.

Full event details are available here.

To view Monday’s results, click here.