Don Culham loves the excitement that being a standardbred owner brings him

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Dukester, a five-year-old gelding, is one of his horses that had him on the edge of his seat the last time he was at Woodbine Racetrack.

After having closed hard to score a 19-1 upset in the second round of the Don Mills Trotting Series, Dukester, a son of Duke Of York, secured himself a spot in Monday's $75,000 final at the suburban Toronto oval.

But when the field turned for home and Dukester was seventh, six and a half lengths behind the leader, “I thought he was going to finish no worse than second,” said Culham, who has owned horses since 1970. “I was looking to get into the final, but I really didn’t expect to win [the second leg]. It was very exciting.”

The bay also lowered his lifetime mark to 1:56.2 in the process. The six-time career winner, who has two wins and two third-place finishes in five starts this season, was always on Culham’s radar.

“I liked him for a couple of years,” said the 63-year-old resident of Cambridge, Ont. “I purchased him off of Chris Christoforou Sr. last August.

“He is just a really nice animal and I thought he could be improved upon,” he added. “Usually I buy horses that I have seen race and that I like the way they go. I thought he’d be a nice horse for me to race this winter.”

Culham feels that Dukester, a winner of $24,180 so far this year, is a trotter that never quits and may surprise again.

“He doesn’t have a lot of early speed,” he explained. “I was hoping that I would draw closer to the inside so we can get into the flow. As long as there is lots of speed up front then he will close and be there at the end.”

Paul MacDonell will drive the Ken Switzer trainee. The pair will start from Post 8 in Race 5.

To view the harness racing entries for Monday at Woodbine, click the following link: Monday Entries - Woodbine Racetrack.

(WEG)