Eddie Roque received more than he bargained for after his harness pony broke its own world record at the Elkhart County Fair Ground Race in Goshen, Indiana, at the weekend.

With driver Candyce Martins, the Bermudian’s six-year-old mare, MI Where’s the Party, raced on the rail to win the eighteenth heat in 57secs flat to slash three fifths of a second off the previous world record on a half-mile track set last year

The remarkable feat surpassed Roque’s expectations.

“I did not expect that much but I guess I got it,” he told The Royal Gazette. “The track conditions were perfect and she was right on the money.”

The local team’s preparations suffered a major setback leading up to the event, which threatened to derail their campaign.

“We were a little bit sceptical because Candyce lost her grandmother,” Roque added. “She had to go home for that week so I had to jog and train the horse myself while she was away.”

Martins and MI Where’s the Party showed early promise competing in the one minute and faster division during the qualifying heats.

“Candyce came back Thursday night and did the first race on Friday night when she went in 58 flat,” Roque said. “I could see where MI Where’s the Party was on Friday that she had more to go and she proved it on Saturday.”

Martins and MI’s Where’s the Party also hold the mares’ world record on a five-16th track (1:01).

They achieved that feat at Nappanee Raceway in Indiana last weekend with the time equalling the overall world record.

The pair also held the previous mares’ world record, which stood at 1min 0.4sec but there may not be too many marks left to break, with Roque planning on retiring his record-breaking mare at the end of the season.

“I think she is going to retire on a good note,” he said.

“She is on top and she is six years old, so now it’s time to go make some babies.”