Colin Mello believes the future of local harness racing is bright.The Driving Horse and Pony Club president says he is encouraged by the strides some of the teams have made this season, which ended with the coveted Champion of Champions dashes at Vesey Street at the weekend.“A lot of horses did fast times this year and I think the Free for All has been the fastest we have ever had, which is a good sign,” Mello said. “I know a lot of people put personal bests on their ponies this year, so I am really pleased and happy with that.“I think everybody works hard and it’s a lot of work to get these horses here and we really appreciate everybody coming out, especially with the way the weather was for our last weekend. “I would just like to thank everybody that showed up; drivers, trainers, owners just to get the track ready because we had quite a bit of water on it. “I would also like to thank all the volunteers we have. Without the volunteers, we will never be able to have this, so from the driving club family we really appreciate everything and everybody that’s come out and helped this year.“It was a good season and I think we have plenty to look forward to.”The DHPC staged the season finale Champion of Champions, which was a four-dash series involving the six fastest ponies on the island spread over Saturday and Sunday.After all was said and done at the track, Robert and Tyler Lopes’s mare, Google Me, retained her title after achieving the fastest combined average time with driver Candyce Martins at the helm.“Congratulations to Robert and the Lopes family and the Martins family,” Mello said. “They put a lot of work and time in with the mare, so congratulations to them.”Moments after retaining bragging rights, Lopes announced his plans to retire his Indiana-bred pony that also holds the overall track record and mare’s record, which stands at 1:01/1, and is the only mare to be crowned Champion of Champions.Lopes also retired Google Me after the maiden Champion of Champions triumph last year before having a change of heart.