Rookie pacers made their mark with record-setting performances

Rookie pacers made their mark with record-setting performances at Grand River Raceway during the harness racing eliminations for the Battle of Waterloo, presented by Winbak Farm, and the Battle of the Belles.

Fifth and Five (Bettors Delight – Filou Fly Fast) set a new track record for two-year-olds in the second $15,000 Battle elimination division. Driven by Jody Jamieson and trained by his father Carl, who co-owns with 1140545 Ontario Ltd. and Trevor Edwards, Fifth and Five stopped the clock at a dazzling 1:51.4. After a quarter pole move to the lead in 27.1 seconds, he maintained middle splits of 55.2 and 1:23.4 before sprinting home to an easy victory over Allstar Maniac. Blue Bar and Tito N Cheddar completed the top four.

Carl and Jody Jamieson have previously won the Battle of Waterloo four times together, with Carl having a total of six victories in the race’s 34-year history.

In the second Battle elimination, Stonebridge Wizard (Dancin Lou – Odds On Magic) used a similar strategy to secure a win for driver Doug McNair in 1:52.4. He fended off strong challenges in the back half and pulled away late for his third win of the season. Out Of Ice finished second, with Set Shot and Sterling Choice rounding out the top four. Stonebridge Wizard is trained by Jared Bako and owned by David Kryway, giving Doug McNair a chance at his sixth Battle title next week.

Bob McClure stole the show in the Battle of the Belles eliminations, guiding two longshots to victory. In the first $10,000 elimination, he drove a 9-1 shot Manhattan Mayhem (Bettors Delight – Manhattan Dragon) to a thrilling off-the-pace win in 1:53. The filly circled the field in the final quarter to defeat Famous Fast Words, Millie May Hanover, and Ithadtobeyou. Trained by Shawn Steacy, Manhattan Mayhem is owned by Nancy Malik, Tony Basile, and Andrew Atlas.

In the second elimination, McClure took a different approach with Perfectly Chic (Betterthancheddar – Fit N Bad), sending her first over at the half. The filly wore down pacesetting Wicked N Single to win in 1:53.2. Wicked N Single held second, while Wickedpace and Oneformybaby completed the top four. This was Perfectly Chic’s first career win; she is trained by John Pentland and co-owned with Steve Mihalic.

The post position draws for the Battle of Waterloo and Battle of the Belles took place on Monday evening. The top four finishers from each elimination, along with one fifth-place finisher drawn by lot, advance to the finals on Industry Day, Monday, August 5. The fields are as follows:

$175,000 Battle of the Belles:

1) Manhattan Mayhem (Bettors Delight)

2) One For My Baby (Hes Watching)

3) Millie May Hanover (Bettors Delight)

4) Perfectly Chic (Betterthancheddar)

5) Wicked N Single (Mcwicked)

6) Famous Fast Words (Sportswriter)

7) Wickedpace (Mcwicked)

8) Saddlebags (Control The Moment)

9) Ithadtobeyou (Bettors Delight)

AE1) Mystic Moment

AE2) Lady Café Au Lait

$245,000 Battle Of Waterloo:

1) Sterling Choice (Betterthancheddar)

2) Fifth and Five (Bettors Delight)

3) Set Shot (Bettors Delight)

4) Tito N Cheddar (Betterthancheddar)

5) Stonebridge Wizard (Dancing Lou)

6) Allstar Maniac (All Bets Off)

7) Blue Bar (All Bets Off)

8) Out Of Ice (Hes Watching)

9) Boyd Bay (Jimmy Freight)

AE1) Tip Of Time

AE2) Bunkhouse Boss