Rockeyed Optimist did a lot of moving during the harness racing at the Bermuda Equestrian Centre at the weekend.

Not only did Tuck Away Farm’s two-year-old colt bolt out of the 1:11/4 and slower time bar in only his third race appearance, he also got a leg out of the faster 1:08/1 — 1:11/3 division he climbed to after producing a lifetime best 1:07/3 with driver Dylan DeSilva at the helm.

“It definitely went better than planned,” said Charles Whited, the Tuck Away Farm owner and Driving Horse and Pony Club president.

“He’s showing signs that he’s a pretty decent colt. He’s been struggling a little bit, having to hold him back to try and teach him how to race in the slower time bar.

“He was getting into himself a little bit, so I told Dylan to let him relax and get comfortable and then just sit there and see how he goes.

“Obviously he produced some fast times and moved out of that time bar to the next.”

Whited has high expectations for his two-year-old.

“He’s a colt with a ton of potential and I think he’s going to be pretty decent,” he said. “He’s very athletic and our biggest challenge is going to be to teach him how to race because naturally he has the speed. The horse just wants to go and he’s going faster than what his brain can actually cope with right now.

“Dylan has had his hands full trying to get him to a place where he’s comfortable and not having to short stride him and stuff.”

Rockeyed Optimist was not the only pony turning heads at the track as his brother, Gold N Glory, also owned by Tuck Away Farm, posted the night’s fastest time of 1:03/4.

The three-year-old colt’s blistering time was just one fifth of a second shy of equalling the season’s fastest time of 1:03/3, achieved by Aaron Sims’s gelding Simsfield Hardtimes the previous race day.

“He’s coming along nicely,” Whited said. “He’s only a three-year-old and is racing against the big boys and doing well, so it’s exciting times.

“It was definitely a good night for us and we’ll take it.”

Andy Stoneham’s stallion Custard the Dragon posted the second fastest time of 1:04 flat while Graceland Stables’s Itsallaboutme and Tanglewood Stables’s mare Pocket de Gold were tied for the third fastest time on 1:04/1.

Kiwon Waldron was top driver with four heat victories on three different ponies, including Whited’s colt Gold N Glory.