Simsfield Stables had plenty of cause for celebration after one of their ponies recorded the fastest time of the season by a two-year-old and another advanced to the fastest time bar at the National Equestrian Centre on New Year’s Day.

Aaron Sims’s stallion Goldrush won the 2-Year-Old Stakes and also posted the fastest time of the season in his division (1.04/4) in the penultimate heat of the four-race series with driver Kirista Rabain in the bike.

Rabain also steered Sims’s four-year-old gelding Red October to 4-Year-Old Stakes honours, winning all four heats spread across Boxing Day and New Year’s Day. The pair also posted a 1.04 flat after racing on the rail in the penultimate heat of the overall series to get both legs out of the Junior Free for All time bar and move up to the Free for All division, which features the island’s fastest harness ponies.

“A very good day and I am very pleased,” an elated Sims told The Royal Gazette.

“It’s been a lot of work with Goldrush. I bought him as four-month-old horse and brought him to Bermuda at a year old, so to start from the bottom and work your way up to where he is today as a two-year-old is very good.

“The Red October, I literally got him in the beginning of October so he’s only had eight weeks’ training and where he’s at today is good. Kirista is getting along with both of them and driving really well, so I think it’s a very good team.”

Rabain was thrilled to have produced top performances from both ponies.

“Goldrush had a really good race, a really hard run and we’re super impressed by him,” she said.

“The stars sort of aligned for him and he is the fastest two-year-old at the moment. All four races he was super competitive, stayed in the match and it’s obviously his first stakes race as a two year old, so him handling that sort of pressure was impressive.

“Red October had four heat wins and he’s an impressive boy. He did a good time today (1.04), which actually put him in the Free for All time bar, so next non-stakes raceday he will be racing against the big boys.”

Mello Family’s gelding, War Machine, captured the Aged Stakes crown with driver Philip Correia at the helm.

“He ran good, he’s had four good heats and I am very pleased,” Mello said.

“Philip does good with him. I do all he work at home and Philip does all the work on the track, so it’s a big team effort.”

Correia was also pleased to pick up a win on one of harness racing’s biggest days.

“War Machine definitely did a good job,” he said. “The weather was better today so it was definitely a good day for him.

“He leaves everything on the track and I don’t know what else to say about him. At the end of the day he’s just consistent. He’s in a good programme, got a good team behind him and he ran good to pull it off today. I also can’t wait to race Red October in the Free for All.”

Belhaven Stables also had reason to celebrate after their gelding Smart Machine and team owner/driver Candyce Martins came away with the 3-Year-Old Stakes title.

“I am very pleased,” Martins said. “Smart Machine has been running good and to me it means more because I started him as a baby to get him where he is today, so I am really proud of him in what he’s accomplished.

“He went good and I didn’t expect anything else from him. He performed above, if anything, how I expected him to and I am proud of him. He was good and the best is yet to come.”

War Machine and driver Correia posted the day’s fastest time of 1.02/1 racing on the rail in the penultimate heat in the Aged Stakes series.

The winners in each category were determined by the fastest average time at the end of the four-race series.