Wellthereyougo Wins Battle Of Waterloo

Wellthereyougo matched the stakes record with a 1:55 victory in the 12th edition of the $300,000 Battle of Waterloo for two-year-old pacers

featured on Industry Day at Grand River Raceway.

Future Million (Simon Allard) pulled ahead of the field off the gate, but fellow elimination winner Wellthereyougo reached up for the lead at the :27.4 opening quarter under the guidance of Randy Waples. The 8-5 favourite turned back a challenge from Youkeepmehangingon (Luc Ouellette) past the half in :56.4 and rolled by three-quarters in 1:25.4. Down the stretch, Wellthereyougo drew away by four and three-quarter lengths for the triumph.

Stonebridge Tonic (Doug McNair) and Adrenaline (Rick Zeron) came on for second and third.

"I'm sure Simon [Allard] wanted to be in front, his horse raced good there last week, but I was coming hard and he made the right decision," said Waples following the race. "I think he was a little disappointed with his horse that he only finished fifth off the trip that he got. At the head of lane I kept looking over to see how close he was to me because he was the one that was scaring me the most with the trip that he was getting, but I think Simon drove a perfect trip. I think he gave his horse the perfect trip and it just didn't work out for him, but it did work out for me. But yeah, I was a little bit nervous when I drove up alongside of him, but he let me go and I think it was the right move.

“It’s a really special race to me,” added Waples, who picked up his third Battle of Waterloo trophy this afternoon. "I went to high school in Fergus and I’ve stayed in contact with a lot of my friends. There's no better place to grow up than in Fergus and Elora. They’re just two great, great towns and I can’t say enough about them both. I love being here."

Trained and owned in part by Dr. Ian Moore, Wellthereyougo won for the third time in five starts. R G McGroup Ltd. of Bathurst, N.B. and Serge Savard of Saint-Bruno, Que. also share ownership of the Camluck-Cheeky Hanover colt, who was a $45,000 Harrisburg Sale purchase.

"Ian called me and said he wanted me to go with him in the final and that was great. The only thing he asked me to do was, he said no matter what, if you happen to win just please don't stand up on the seat," laughed Waples.

In the $30,000 Battle of Waterloo consolation, 10-1 shot Raging Grin popped the pocket at the half and subsequently overtook the early leader Cool And Collected (Doug McNair). The Grinfromeartoear-Red Road Rage gelding held off the odds-on favourite, Ok Canada (Mario Baillargeon), in the stretch by a half length, tripping the teletimer in 1:56.3. Northern All Star (Mark MacDonald) was a distant third.

Joe Hudon, Jr. drives, trains and co-owns the bay with breeder Margaret Payne of St. Augustine, Florida. Raging Grin, a winner of $22,760 won for the first time and now sports a record reading 1-1-2 in four starts.

The inaugural $150,000 Battle of the Belles went to Fbs Terror, who made a three-wide brush down the backstretch and cruised home for the 9-1 upset in a new mark of 1:56.2.

Driver Scott Zeron positioned the Western Terror-Speedy Shopper filly sixth off the gate from Post 4 as The Big Scoop (Paul MacKenzie) shot to the front of the field. Deliciouslynaughty (Mario Baillargeon) was the first to move and that one stole the led at the :27.4 opening quarter, but the favoured Mother Hen (Jody Jamieson) made a brief appearance on the front end as did Lyons Anitacol (Brad Forward) during the second interval. The half was up in :57 and from there The Big Scoop took another shot for the No. 1 spot, but Fbs Terror angled wide past three-quarters in 1:26.2 and cruised home to win by seven and a half lengths.

The Big Scoop was the runner-up and Mother Hen finished third.

Mario Macri trains Fbs Terror, a $12,000 Forest City sale purchase for Michael Guerriero of Moffat, Ont. The win was the bay's second in four lifetime starts bumping her earnings to $91,300.

In the $20,000 consolation for the Belles, Euphrosini also made a three-wide move at the third quarter station to claim the lead from pacesetter Mc Taylor (Randy Fritz). The 2-1 second choice pulled away to win in 1:58.4 by a length and quarter over Mobro Flirt (Jason Brewer) while the fan favourite, Classic Gem (Jody Jamieson), finished third.

Driven by Trevor Henry for trainer Rene Laarman, Euphrosini broke her maiden with the victory and boosted her bankroll to $14,640. The Mach Three-Janie McPockets filly was purchased for $36,000 from the Harrisburg Sale in Pennsylvania by Glenview Livestock Ltd, of Wallenstein, Ont.

The Battle of Waterloo undercard also featured a handful of preferred events, which produced a few surprises for the betting public.

In the $12,000 Fillies & Mares Preferred Invitational Pace, Jvs Redwine and Scott Zeron posted an 8-1 upset for trainer Victor Puddy and owner Jerome Voldock of Arnprior, Ont. The four-year-old Astreos-Small Town Flirt mare landed on top from Post 4 heading to the first quarter and took the field through the remaining panels before holding off Trace Of Luck (Mike Horner), who rolled three-wide around the final turn, by a quarter length in a career-best 1:55.3. Gabrielles Girl (Steve Byron) finished third.

The win was Jvs Redwine’s sixth of the year in 22 starts and lifted her earnings to $43,092. Now an 11-time career winner, the bay sports a bankroll of $64,692.

Driver Simon Allard teamed up with his brother, trainer Rene Allard to post a 16-1 surprise in the $15,000 Preferred Invitational Trot with Titan Park. The six-year-old son of Credit Winner-Triangle Park carved out all the fractions and held on for the 1:57 score in photo finish over Indiana Hall (Bill O’Donnell). Indiana Hall was, however, placed back to eighth for not having clearance of the passing lane. The favourite, Merited Victory (Scott Zeron), inherited the second-place trophy and Home Stretch (Tim Driver) was placed third as a result of the inquiry.

The bay gelding is owned by Rene Allard along with Ferne and Jack Frydman of Thornhill, Ont. His 10th win in 22 outings this season lifted his earnings to $82,420. The 36-time winner lifetime boasts a bankroll of $220,939.

There were no surprises in the $15,000 Preferred Invitational Pace as Donegal Gerald advanced first-over at the halfway point from fourth and eventually wore down pacesetter Along Came Polly (Paul MacKenzie) in the stretch. The Dave Matson pupil prevailed by three-quarters of a length over Secret Weapon (Mark MacDonald) in 1:54.3 with Along Came Polly settling for third.

Owned by John Foran of Newmarket, Ont., the gelding’s seventh win in 23 seasonal tries increased his earnings to $92,190. The lion’s share of the purse pushed the 21-time winner’s total bankroll to $218,205.

Countess Stormont pulled off a mild 3-1 upset to win the $11,000 Fillies & Mares Preferred #2 Trot for trainer Norm Jones and Stormont Meadows of Long Sault, Ont. With Jonathan Drury at the reins, Countess Stormont survived a first-over journey to win by over five lengths in 1:58.4. Longshot Fa Mulan (Bruce Richardson) was the runner-up and Zorgwijk Fallon (Randy Waples) rounded out the top three.

The four-year-old daughter of Kadabra-Lady Orbitex won for the fourth time in 21 starts this year and bumped her earnings to $74,319. Countess Stormont, a winner of $211,414 lifetime, made her ninth trip to the winner’s circle this afternoon.

Start Livin, the 2-1 third choice in the $11,000 Preferred #2 Trot, was a wire-to-wire winner in 1:57.3 for the tandem of driver Trevor Henry and trainer Dan Creighton. The four-year-old son of Striking Sahbra-Merry Legs Hanover held on by a nose to win over Logan Aas (Rick Zeron) while longshot Sam Nelson (Jason Brewer) picked up the bronze medal.

Owned and bred by the Danterra Racing Stable of Strathroy, Ont., Start Livin scored his third win of the season in 11 tries and upped his earnings to $28,000. A winner of seven races lifetime, the gelding has banked $145,957 to date.

Industry Day also featured a 25th birthday salute to Ontario stallion extraordinaire Run The Table, who came to the winner's circle to accept his commemorative blanket with owners Jack and Don McNiven of Killean Acres.

The day rounded out with the sixth running of the Drivers' Edition of the Bouncy Pony Stakes. Simon Allard scored his second consecutive title, nosing out 2007 champ Anthony MacDonald. Newcomers Doug McNair and Scott Zeron rounded out the field. Grand River Raceway will donate $200 to Allard's charity of choice — the Ontario Standardbred Adoption Society — on the victor's behalf.

On track wager for Industry Day increased 21 percent over 2008 with $109,867 through the windows for this year's 11-race card. The overall bet, including simulcast outlets, totalled $268,102 — a 26 percent rise over last year's event.

To view Monday’s harness racing results, click here.

(With files from Grand River Raceway)