Lee Raynor Jr could hardly believe his eyes after his stud, Special Gold, smashed the record in the two-year-old division for the second time in a fortnight during the last round of harness racing at Vesey Street.

Racing off the rail in his first heat of the day, Raynor’s Indiana-bred pony ran a blistering 1:04/2 to break his record he set on New Year’s Day and get a leg in the Free for All division, reserved for the fastest ponies on the rock.

“I expected good things from him, but not this soon,” said Raynor, who jointly owns the pony with his son Sergio.

“God has blessed me with him because he is special and I knew there was something special about him when I first saw him in Indiana. He just loves to run.”

Special Gold comes from good pedigree as his mother, Special Irish, is a winner of five stakes races and holder of the mare’s record at the famous half -mile Goshen race track in Indiana, which stands at a staggering 00:58/4.

“I bought his mother in Indiana when she was six months old and bred her myself there and Special Gold is her first son,” Raynor said.

Special Gold has surpassed great expectations during his debut season on the local harness racing scene.

“I brought him in last July and he has been doing extremely well since the first day we took him to the track,” Raynor added. “I am very pleased.”

Steering Special Gold to another track record was teenaged driver Kiwon Waldron, who was also at the helm of the stud when it set the previous fastest time of 1:05 on New Year’s Day. “Warming up, Special Gold felt really good so I knew he wanted to go,” said Waldron, who was among the day’s multiple heat winners.

“I didn’t go out expecting to shatter the record. He felt great and wanted to run, so I let him do his thing.

“He has promising things ahead. Lee and Sergio Raynor have done a great job in training him.”

Raynor said Waldron and his pony “have knitted very well”.

“They are growing together and definitely becoming a good team and I am very pleased with how they are doing,” Raynor added.

Special Gold ended the season with a bang as last weekend’s appearance was his final of the campaign.

“Last week was his last race because I am going to lay him off until September,” Raynor said. “He’s still a baby so I want to give him an early rest to catch himself and more time to develop and grow and come back next season a lot stronger.”

Raynor, a former Southampton Rangers cricketer, thanked all those who have contributed to his pony’s success.

“It takes a village to raise a child and I am grateful for a number of people who have helped me,” he said.

“If I start calling names we would be here all day. But I am grateful to the many people at the track who have helped me along the way with this horse.”

Other notable performances at the weekend saw Big Mean Machine, with teenaged driver Casey Truran in the bike, advance from the 1:06/1-1:07/1 division, while Cherokee’s Ironman posted the fastest time of 1:03/3 with Darico Clarke at the helm.