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Double Time falls narrowly short of setting record

Strong showing: Double Time, right, came close to breaking the Bermuda bred record, while equalling her lifetime best time during harness racing at Vesey Street last weekend

Double Time flirted with the Bermuda bred record while equalling her lifetime best time during harness racing at Vesey Street at the weekend.Simsfield Stables’ mare ran a 1:03/1 en route to winning the second heat in the Junior Free for All with driver Dylan DeSilva in the bike.The time was a fifth of a second shy of the Bermuda bred record, which stands at 1:03 flat, and is held by rival mare Reel Patrol, and equalled her lifetime best time achieved nearly a year ago.“We had the rail with Double Time and pushed and tied her lifetime mark again and was a fifth of a second off of the Bermuda bred record,” Aaron Sims, who trains Double Time, said.Double Time achieved her lifetime best in January of last year to grab a share of then Bermuda bred record of 1:03/1, which Reel Patrol also held.Reel Patrol, owned by Inwood Stables, regained the Bermuda bred record outright less than a month later with driver Kiwon Waldron in the bike.Simsfield Stables capped another memorable outing at Vesey Street last Saturday night as their gelding, Simsfield Hardtimes, posted the fastest time of 1:02/2 in the Free for All, again with DeSilva at the helm.“We had the rail and we just let him go,” Sims added. “Dylan went out there and he pushed him and he went good. He just kind of pulled away from the rest of the field and they couldn’t keep up.“It wasn’t his best time but obviously severely faster than the rest of the ponies so we are pleased with it.”Simsfield Hardtimes and Robert and Tyler Lopes’s mare, Google Me, share the season’s fastest time of 1:01/3 which they achieved the same race day last month.The 1:01/3 Simsfield Hardtimes posted was one fifth of a second shy of the gelding’s record and two-fifths shy of the overall track record, which stands at 1:01/1, and is held by Google Me.Sims believes the best is yet to come from his gelding.“Dylan is doing a great job with him,” he said. “They seem to get along.“I am pleased with the two of them together and I think there’s more to come.“Will he break the record? I don’t know. Are we going to try? Yeah, we will.”Special Gold, owned by Raynor Family, posted the second fastest time of 1:02/4 competing in the Free for All while Itsallaboutme, owned by Graceland Stables, and Google Me earned a share of the third fastest time along with Double Time.Special Gold’s time was three fifths of a second shy of his lifetime best of 1:02/1, which the four-year-old stallion achieved last month.Harness racing continues at Vesey Street on Sunday, beginning at 1pm.