Fabulous freshman on display on Grand River’s flagship day
by Matthew Lomon
After celebrating the first Industry Day on its new five-eighths-mile track last August, Grand River Raceway is teeming with anticipation ahead of round 2.
“We’re getting very excited,” said Jenna MacDonell before her second Industry Day as raceway manager. “Industry Day is always a favorite around here, and for the horse racing community, especially. We have excellent races lined up and ready to rock and we’re looking forward to bringing everybody together.”
Set for its usual first Monday in August slot (Aug. 4), the 36th renewal of the Elora, ON oval’s signature race date will be headlined by its marquee contest – the Battle of Waterloo presented by Winbak Farm.
“With a 2-year-old race like that, you never really know what you’re going to get,” said MacDonell. “Everybody’s very excited because it’s just the beginning of these horses’ careers and they can peak at funny times, especially when they’re young.”
The Battle of Waterloo routinely stirs fond memories for MacDonell, who remembers a neophyte Somebeachsomewhere using the race as a springboard for a Hall of Fame career.
“He had his first start here at Grand River in the eliminations,” she said. “It was the very first time that we saw his flash of, ‘Oh, wow, there is really something here.’
“They knew he was a nice horse, but you’re not certain until you put them under pressure, and they have to perform.”
And that he did.
The famed pacer went on to win the 2007 Battle of Waterloo by 2¼- lengths with Jenna’s father — Hall of Fame reinsman Paul MacDonell — at the helm.
“Nothing can beat that year he won the Battle [of Waterloo],” she said. “It was epic. It was the start of a really fun ride for my family, and it all started at Grand River.
“We have a big mural of Somebeachsomewhere here. I get to walk by him every day and remember those fun times.”
Come Monday, Jenna and the Grand River faithful will have their eyes on the next crop of youngsters hoping to follow in Somebeachsomewhere’s tide-turning footsteps.
With no eliminations this year, the field of Ontario-sired 2-year-old pacers is already set for the $227,100 Battle of Waterloo.
The cast of eight rookies includes Beau Jangles, Borderline Mobby, D A Lets Dance, Dax Seelster, No Waitlist, Ryder Ross, Speaksoftlytome, and Tilthecowscomehome.
Beau Jangles, the Battle of Waterloo’s likely morning-line favorite, has already shown flashes of his immense potential.
Trained by 2024 Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame inductee Dr. Ian Moore, the bay son of Cattlewash—Mrs Major Hill is a perfect two-for-two to begin his career with a pair of impressive Ontario Sires Stakes Gold victories on July 5 and 19 at Woodbine Mohawk Park.
The co-feature on Grand River’s riveting Industry Day card is the Battle of the Belles for Ontario sired 2-year-old pacing fillies.
Eliminations for the pulse-pounding companion race concluded on Monday (July 28), with nine freshman fillies advancing to next week’s $153,000 final: TH Check Me Out, Malicia Speed, Romantic Beauty, Lavender Seelster, Daya, Talbot Kristen, Horse With A Plan, Jen Tilly, and P N G Shadow.
Daya and Romantic Beauty emerged from their individual elims victorious.
The former — a homebred Bulldog Hanover—Beach Of A Time daughter owned and trained by Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Famer Jack Darling — made good on her 4-5 favorite status by a neck over TH Check Me Out.
The latter’s elims effort was especially notable, as the Bettors Delight filly crossed the wire in a track record 1:52.2.
Romantic Beauty’s stellar showing also stands as the fastest mile by any freshman pacer over a Canadian five-eighths mile track this year.
“We’ve got some nice horses lining up behind the gate for both races this year,” said Jenna. “We can’t wait to watch them compete.”
Last year’s Battle of the Belles saw a shuffle atop the podium after inquiries involving winner Wicked N Single and second-place finisher Manhattan Mayhem.
The former survived her review while the latter was relegated to third after being ruled to have interfered with third-place finisher Wickedpace, who was elevated to second.
While avoiding another “interesting situation” is part of the goal for this year’s iteration, the true focus lies with what Industry Day means for harness racing in Ontario.
“That’s the exciting thing about it – having a great Ontario-sired product is incredibly important for the industry as a whole,” said Jenna.
As the on-track festivities are doing their part to help grow the game, the off-track buzz won’t be far behind.
Whether it be the NEIGHbourhood kids area equipped with face painting, glitter tattoos, inflatable axe throwing, and patio games or live music and food trucks on-site, there is something for everyone on Industry Day.
“The goal always is to bring in new people and find different ways that are going to attract but also to retain the people who we have brought in over the last couple of years,” said Jenna. “It’s about changing things up a little bit so that it’s fresh but not changing it too much so that the things that keep people coming back are still all there.”
Also on tap is a visit from Equine Guelph, who will be operating their interactive educational booth to teach guests about equine health, safety, and welfare.
In addition to Equine Guelph, Grand River will have its own NEIGHbourhood booth, as well as a virtual reality race bike experience courtesy of the Bill Galvin Racing Alliance.
“Encouraging people who are new to racing to come to the racetrack is something we emphasize and having something for the kids to do is an important part of that,” said Jenna.
Through its diverse offerings within and outside the rails, Grand River is gaining momentum heading into its flagship day.
“Tickets are still available on our website, but they are starting to sell out fast, which is exciting,” Jenna said. “Whoever is interested in coming to Industry Day is more than welcome to book their tickets.”
First race post for Industry Day at Grand River is 12:30 p.m. ET.
