The 2-5 favourite Betterhavemymoney refused to sit pocket to 5-2 second choice Erinwood Yves early, and the Betterthancheddar gelding survived his own swift pace to claim a narrow victory in the $251,050 Battle Of Waterloo on Monday (Aug. 2) at Grand River Raceway.
Erinwood Yves slid to the lead around the first turn while driver James MacDonald darted Betterhavemymoney for the front from post 5. The pair scooted well clear of the field as their backside brawl clocked a :26.2 opening quarter before Betterhavemymoney forged to the lead. He started to slow the pace passing the stands into a :54.4 half, where the field came back into contact with the loose leaders.
Betterhavemymoney snagged another breather up the backstretch, passing three-quarters in 1:24 as he and Erinwood Yves again gained separation on the field. Erinwood Yves readied a stretch charge from the pocket after Betterhavemymoney at the base of the turn, but the Nick Gallucci trainee held firm to the pole to win by a head over Erinwood Yves in 1:52.4 – a fifth of a second off the track record. Century Inspector took third while Stews Watching finished fourth.
“There’s no layups in this business. I knew I had the heavy favourite, but I thought if Jody [Jamieson and Erinwood Yves] got off the gate well he would be more than content to follow me, but he was going to make sure he made me pay the price,” MacDonald said after the race. “Kudos to Gabby [Sasso] – she’s got a good barn of horses and that horse raced terrific. 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 mean it’s huge – any time you get a crack at some of these signature events, you’ve got to take advantage of them,” MacDonald also said. “Nick [Gallucci] did a great job. He had the horse ready, and the horse just did it all. I’m really happy for everyone involved, and I’m happy to see a good crowd here today at Grand River. It’s really awesome.”
A winner in all four of his starts, Betterhavemymoney has accrued $236,025 for owner-breeder Millar Farms. He paid $2.80 to win.
To return to the Industry Day News Centre, click here.
To view Monday's compete results, click the following link: Monday Results – Grand River Raceway.