PRESS RELEASE
For immediate release
July 28, 2004

Banner Performances In Battle Elims

Elora, Ontario - Off the strength of a dominant elimination victory, Banner Yankee, a two-year-old son of Grinfromeartoear, has stamped himself as the horse to beat in the $320,000 Battle of Waterloo final, set for Monday, August 2 at Grand River Raceway.

Three elimination events were staged at the Elora, Ontario track earlier tonight, with Carl Jamieson trainee Banner Yankee taking the quickest split. Jamieson, who's won the coveted Battle of Waterloo a record three times, qualified a total of three hopefuls for next week's final.

In rein to Jody Jamieson, Banner Yankee withstood early challenges from a pair of pesky competitors before establishing a clear lead in the first elimination. Once on top, he easily bested his six rivals, completing the mile in a totally unstressed 1:56.1 — a Canadian seasonal record for two-year-old pacing colts on a half-mile track. Zooka posted a bullet final quarter-mile to finish second, while The Thief rounded out the triactor, thus earning a ticket to next week's championship.

Banner Yankee is owned by the Banner Yankee Stable of Princeton, Ontario. He was a beaten favourite in the season's first Ontario Sires Stakes Gold Series event, but rebounded nicely to take the year's second Gold final one week ago at Georgian Downs. He was a $13,000 yearling purchase at last year's Harrirburg yearling auction.

Chalk struck again in the second elimination as Armbro Chivalry, the Grinfromeartoear colt that denied Banner Yankee the season's first OSS crown, closed more than 15 lengths to mow down his six competitors in a time of 1:58. With Roger Mayotte at the controls for trainer Mario Macri, the colt posted his second lifetime victory, boosting his bankroll to $107,551. Fast Factor, an Apaches Fame colt, produced a brave first-over victory and was rewarded with second place honours. Oh George Go, a Mark Austin pupil, snatched the final advancing position with a solid closing kick.

Armbro Chivalry is owned by Carmine Cesta, Eric Udrzal, Mario Macri and Vince Mastrangelo. The Armstrong Bros. bred colt was a bargain $6,000 purchase at last year's Forest City Yearling Sale.

The third, and arguably most competitive elimination was taken by rail-rider Silent Swing, who assumed an early advantage for driver Trevor Ritchie and never surrendered his lead. The Jack Darling trained son of Northern Luck cruised through moderate early fractions before turning up the heat in the mile's latter stages to best pocket-sitter Grand Bend Turbo by a comfortable 2-1/4 lengths. Lincoln Parke braved a first-over trip and survived a judge's inquiry after breaking stride in the stretch, to earn the final advancing slot.

Silent Swing has raced credibly in the early season OSS Gold Series events, but had yet to crack the win column until tonight. The colt was a $20,000 purchase by Jack Darling Stables Ltd. and Dan Smith at last year's Kentucky Standardbred Yearling Sale.

Following this evening's elimination events, a trackside post position draw was conducted to determine the starting slots in next week's $320,000 final. The field for the Battle of Waterloo final appears below.

Post / Horse

1 / Armbro Chivalry
2 / Silent Swing
3 / Oh George Go
4 / Fast Factor
5 / Banner Yankee
6 / The Thief
7 / Zooka
8 / Lincoln Parke
9 / Grand Bend Turbo

AE1 / Northern Pacific
AE2 / Winning Matters

For more information about each horse, click here

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For more information, contact:

Kelly Spencer
Marketing/Publicity Manager
Grand River Raceway
kspencer@grandriverraceway.com
(519) 846 5455 ext. 238