Stakes Races promise to be chock full of excitement

The harness racing season shifts into high gear with the immensely popular Stakes Race qualifiers to be held at the Bermuda Equestrian Centre on Boxing Day.

Sunday’s event features ponies of various ages competing in two divisions for the right to earn one of four Stakes Race final berths to go up for grabs.

A total of two qualifiers will be held, with the eventual four finalists to be determined by their combined average.

In the event of inclement weather, December 27th has been set aside as an alternative date for the Stakes Race qualifiers, which traditionally attract a huge turnout.

Michael Rodrigues, Driving Horse and Pony Club (DHPC) president, said it’s anyone’s guess which horse and driver will be left standing tallest when all is said and done.

He added: “We have some two-year old stakes race ponies that are very good right now. Stay Tuned (Joseph Vieira) seems to be very consistent, Mercedes Benz (Nick DeCosta) and also What a Sensation (Andy Stoneham) also seems very consistent. Then there are the other two, Iron Mike (Nick DeCosta) and Skyway Rocket (Charles Whited), who could show up and qualify for the second race (final). You just never know on these racing ponies.”

No dull moments

As an added incentive for the drivers, Rodrigues said prize money will also be on offer.

He added: “We don’t really have prize money any other time of the year and so each driver gets sponsorship for themselves and they get prize money at the end of it. So there is a little bit of getting something out of all their hard work that they have achieved throughout the season.”

There’s rarely a dull moment in harness racing and Rodrigues expects much of the same on Boxing Day as drivers seek to cash in.

The DHPC boss added: “People do get very competitive during Boxing Day and New Year’s Day. At the end of the day you are going to try and win a little bit of money and people do get very racy. So you do see people really driving and trying to beat the other aged pony.”

This season has seen a new track record (1:02:3) established, a number of rookie drivers emerge from the shadows of their more accomplished rivals and, perhaps most importantly, mother nature co-operate for the most part.

Rodrigues added: “This season we have been very lucky with the weather — we have only had one rain date which was last weekend.

“We have raced all of our races and usually this time of the year we have a bit of a problem with rain.”

The harness racing chief reckons the sport is headed on the up, but stressed the need for a larger race track — a view expressed by many.

He said: “Hopefully we can get a bigger track because we have very good quality ponies. We do need a bigger track for safety reasons and also so that we can get more ponies racing together instead of just four. We may be able to get more ponies racing as they do abroad.”

Racing officially gets under at 12 noon at Vesey Street on Sunday.