Ontario’s talented three-year-old trotting colts bring their speed show to Rideau Carleton Raceway on Thursday evening, and trainer Norm Dunstan is hoping Lexis Amigo is ready to break into the big time

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The son of Amigo Hall finished third in the first Gold elimination test of the season and came back with a fourth in the May 25 Gold final at Mohawk Racetrack, but then started to struggle with breaks. In an effort to figure out what was troubling the gelding, Dunstan pared away all the nonessential equipment, including a pair of trotting hopples, and went back to basics.

"I decided to try and configure him the way he was as a two-year-old," explained the resident of Caledon Village, Ont. who also bred and owns Lexis Amigo. "And I changed his shoeing, I put aluminum behind and steel on front. It gives him more push from behind, where the drive comes from, and he’s balanced a little better than he was."

Dunstan’s pared down approach paid immediate dividends. After qualifying in his new ensemble at Mohawk Racetrack on August 21, Lexis Amigo scored a 1:57.4 victory in an August 27 overnight and a 1:56.2 victory in a September 3 contest.

"I’m pleased with him," Dunstan said. "I’m not sure how the competition will look Thursday; they are all nice horses that are going down there."

Catch driver Jason Brewer will steer Lexis Amigo from Post 2 in the first of two $40,000 Gold eliminations, facing off against a tough field that includes two-time Gold final winner Equity from Post 7. The top four finishers from each elimination, plus one fifth-place finisher drawn by lot, will return to Rideau on September 24 for their fourth Gold final of the season, and Dunstan is hoping Lexis Amigo can net a return invitation and a few more points toward a berth in the $300,000 Super Final.

"I’m hoping for a good result," Dunstan said. "He needs points now to try to make the final."

Lexis Amigo is the first foal from Dunstan’s former race mare Lexus Hall, who earned $249,275 in her career. The horseman says the gelding has inherited many of his mother’s traits, both physical and temperament.

"His gait is exactly the same as his mother’s. He’s wide behind, passing gaited, and his front end action is the same," explains the horseman. "And he’s not a whole lot bigger than her either."

Dunstan says Lexus Hall was a complete pleasure to work around and to drive, and says her Amigo Hall offspring is also a nice horse to have in the barn.

"I could sleep under him — until you get to the track, then he puts his game face on and changes," said the trainer. "But when you’re cleaning his stall out, he’ll have his head over your shoulder looking for a pet. He’s a really nice horse to be around."

Dunstan intends to head for Ottawa on Wednesday afternoon, giving Lexis Amigo an opportunity to rest up before Thursday’s test. The Gold eliminations are scheduled as Races 4 and 6 on Rideau’s program, which gets under way at 6:30 p.m.

To view Rideau's harness racing entries for Thursday, click here.

(With files from the OSS)