Log In

Reset Password
BERMUDA | RSS PODCAST

Dylan moves up a time bar at Vesey Street

Dylan DeSilva moved up a time bar while the finalists for the Best of Three Series Stakes were confirmed during weekend harness racing at Vesey Street.DeSilva moved out of the 1:08/3-1:10/3 time bar after crossing the line first in Sunday’s fifth heat in a time of 1:08/1 with colt GV Smokem who lived up to its name.He will now compete in the 1:07/2-1:08/2 time bar when regular season racing resumes in the new year.DeSilva was also among the day’s multiple heat winners having also won heat 14 with Just Like That in the 1:08/3-1:10/3 time bar.Other multiple heat winners included CJ Whited, Keith Woodley, Johnny Paynter, Arthur Hurst and EJ Carreiro.Paynter, one of the most senior drivers in local harness racing, claimed the most wins (three) on the day competing with two different ponies. He swept both heats in the 1:07/2-1:08/2 time bar with Tanglewood Stables’ Ribbons and Pearls and won heat six in the 1:06/1-1:07/1 division with his own mare Sure Grand.Whited (Black & Mild) swept both heats in the 1:05-1:06 time bar, Woodley (Spirit of Bruna) won both heats in the 1:13-1:15 time bar while Hurst (Colonel’s J), the uncle of Driving Horse and Pony Club president Arnold Manders, swept both heats in the 1:10/4-1:12/4 time bar respectively.Colin Mello’s stud, Big Red Machine, recorded the day’s fastest time of 1:03 flat in the Best of Three Series Aged division.Female drivers Lindsay Sousa and Kirista Rabain continued to impress at the racetrack after claiming victories. Sousa (Mr Indiana) won heat four in the 1:06/1-1:07/1 time bar while Rabain (Inwood’s ET) won heat eight in the 1:15/1 & Slower division.Sunday also saw the top four ponies in the Aged and four and five year olds divisions advance to the championship races of the Best of Three Series Stakes.Mello (Big Red Machine), Mark Richardson (GV Crystal Ball), Philip Correia (Cherokee’s Superman) and Joe Vieira (Cherokee Kibbitz) all qualified for the Aged championship races to be held January 13.Veteran powerboat racer Andy Stoneham (What-A-Sensation), Kevin Sousa (Stay Tuned), Jason Peniston (Nite Dreamer) and Sousa (Real Ladylike) all qualified for the four and five year old championship races.Carreiro (Hott Gossip), Vieira (Colonel’s Finest) and Sousa (Imagine That), the only three drivers in the three year old division, will contest the championship races that will comprise of the seventh and eighth races of the overall Best of Three Series Stakes that commenced last October.Ponies in each division with the least amount of points after the final two heats will be declared the winners.The $75 dollar entry fee will complete the purse for the four ponies that qualify for the championship heats. First place poinies will receive 45 percent of the purse, second 25 percent, third 20 percent and fourth ten percent.The Best of Three Series Stakes are jointly sponsored by Keen Limited and Correia Construction.Harness racing resumes December 26 at Vesey Street with Boxing Day Stakes elimination races.