SARNIA, ON — For the handful of two-year-old trotting colts sitting within striking distance of a berth in the Grassroots post season, Saturday’s contest at Hiawatha Horse Park will be the pivotal point in their season.

With a win in his only Grassroots appearance, The Mad Duke is just 12 points below the current cut off for the top 16. The Duke Of York son will make his bid for a top finish from Post 3 in the first $16,527 division on Saturday, and trainer Norm Dunstan hopes the young trotter is on his game.

“He had some foot problems that took him out of action for five to six weeks,” says the Caledon resident. “But we swam him for a few weeks and now I’ve got him back tight enough to race this Saturday.”

The Mad Duke’s foot woes began after an Aug. 11 qualifier at Mohawk Racetrack where he finished second with a 2:04.2 effort. Prior to that, the gelding had delivered a sixth in Gold Elimination action at Grand River Raceway on July 31, fifth-place finishes in the Gold Elimination and consolation at Mohawk on July 13 and 20 and a victory in a division of the July 5 Grassroots season opener at Hanover Raceway.

“He’s never really been used in any race so far,” notes Dunstan, who acquired the colt for $12,000 from last fall’s Forest City Yearling Sale. “So hopefully this Saturday he will be good.

“I think in his three-year-old year, when he is fully matured, he’ll be a real nice horse,” adds the veteran horseman.

The Mad Duke is the second foal of dam Momentary Madness that Dunstan has purchased, and the horseman says his experience with the gelding has been far more favourable than the ride he took with the trotter’s elder sister Lexis Abby.

“I had a filly out of the mare, Momentary Madness, and my first filly was exactly that,” says Dunstan with a wry chuckle. “So we gelded him early and he turned into a nice horse. He is still a handful, but if you baby him along he’s all right.”

Jason Brewer will pilot The Mad Duke on Saturday and among the colts the reinsman will have his eye on are T Js Mr Lavec, who currently sits second in the division standings and will start from the outside Post 9, and Senor Lavec, who will try to hang onto the last spot in the post season from Post 8.

Division leader Archie’s Dream will go looking for a fifth Grassroots victory from Post 2 in the eighth race, one of six colts trainer Wayne Henry will harness at Hiawatha Horse Park on Saturday.

Post time for the Sarnia oval’s first race is 7:30 pm and the two-year-old trotting colts step into the spotlight in Races 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 8. Following Saturday’s contest the top 16 point earners will gather at Flamboro Downs on Sept. 30 for a pair of $30,000 Semifinals, with the top four finishers from each Semifinal earning a ticket into the $100,000 Grassroots Championship on Oct. 7.

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