Meadowlands: Owners enjoying the ride with Kindergarten starter Aintmyfirstro Deo

Forget about putting money down on a hunch bet. A hunch buy can prove to be a big winner too.

At least that’s been the case with 2-year-old male pacer Aintmyfirstro Deo. A son of Perfect Sting-Some Renditions bred by Deo Volente Farms, Aintmyfirstro Deo was purchased for $27,000 by Hutchison Harness LLC at last year’s Lexington Selected Yearling Sale simply because Aneta Hutchison liked the name.

So far this season, the Megan Scran trainee has finished no worse than third in any of his eight races, winning six and earning $204,000. Competing exclusively at the Meadowlands, his victories have included the $180,000 New Jersey Sire Stakes Platinum Series championship and $45,000 Renaissance. He missed by a head from post 9 in the $150,000 New Jersey Classic.

On Saturday (Oct. 31), Aintmyfirstro Deo will face nine rivals in the $125,000 Grade 3 Kindergarten Classic Series final for freshman male pacers at the Big M. He will leave from post 7 with Scott Zeron in the sulky.

“He’s been a fun horse,” said Dr. Robert Hutchison, Aneta’s husband, who races Aintmyfirstro Deo under the Hutchison Harness ownership banner that also includes his son Randy. “He wasn’t on our radar (in Lexington). My wife was sitting in the sales ring watching the sale, and Randy and I were out looking at videos and horses, and she texted us and said, ‘I really like this horse’s name, I think I’m going to buy it.’ It’s turned out to be a pretty good buy, all because she thought he had a cool name.”

The horse’s success has been a pleasant surprise, particularly because Aintmyfirstro Deo wasn’t the easiest horse to get going during the early stages of his training this past winter.

“Totally unexpected, but it’s been exciting, especially with the story behind it,” said Dr. Hutchison, a founding member of the Animal Clinic Northview in North Ridgeville, Ohio. “My wife’s cousins and sisters all follow the horse, so it has been a really fun ride. He’s turned out to be a really nice horse for us.”

Said Scran, “He does have a little bit of antics, but he’s as easygoing as a horse can come. He looks after himself, is super nice to drive, great gaited, has a really nice mouth – all the qualities you’d want in a racehorse. And obviously, he’s pretty fast.”

Aintmyfirstro Deo began his career with five consecutive wins, sweeping his three NJSS Platinum prelims and the final before adding a victory in a leg of the Kindergarten series on Aug. 29. He suffered his first defeat in the New Jersey Classic on Sept. 11 but bounced back with his Renaissance triumph on Oct. 17.

He enters the Kindergarten final off a third-place finish behind Seine and Debonaire in last week’s fifth preliminary leg, where he started from post 11 in the second tier.

“I thought he raced pretty good the other night having the 11-hole,” Dr. Hutchison said. “This (Kindergarten final) is a tough race; there are some really great horses in there. So, this is kind of a test for us to see how he matches up with some of the better horses. We'll see how it goes. Hopefully, it goes well.”

The Kindergarten final for 2-year-old male pacers includes world-record-setting Noel Daley trainee Starstruck Dreamer, who last week finished second in the Grade 1 Breeders Crown at Eldorado Scioto Downs. The son of Captaintreacherous-Scarlett Hanover will leave from post 10 with Todd McCarthy in the sulky. Seine, the Kentucky Championship Series runner-up who narrowly missed advancing to the Breeders Crown final, will start from post 5 for trainer-driver Joe Bongiorno.

“I wish (Aintmyfirstro Deo) would have drawn inside just a little bit more, but it helps that Starstruck Dreamer has the 10-hole, even though he's going to be the heavy favorite,” Scran said. “This is definitely the toughest competition he’s had to face so far. In the New Jersey Sire Stakes races, he was so much the best that he could go the fractions he wanted to go, and now he’s learning that he’s not going to get everything his own way anymore. But Scott will definitely put him in the right spot to give him the best chance.”

Aintmyfirstro Deo is not Hutchison Harness’ only success story this season. The stable also shares in the ownership of undefeated 2-year-old filly trotter Wall Of Fame, 3-year-old filly trotter Jailbird Jog, and 3-year-old male pacer Tsunami Seas.

Wall Of Fame won New Jersey Sire Stakes Platinum and Kentucky Championship titles as well as a division of the Grade 3 Bluegrass Stakes; Jailbird Jog captured the inaugural Oak Grove Trotting Oaks and a division of the Grade 2 Del Miller Memorial; and Tsunami Seas was an Ohio Sires Stakes Scarlet champ.

“We’ve been in the horse business 50-plus years, and we’ve had good horses over the years, but we’ve never had a year like this,” Dr. Hutchison said. “This has just been unbelievable, one of those dream things. We appreciate it. We’re riding the wave as long as it goes.”

Racing begins at 6:20 p.m. (EDT) on Saturday at the Meadowlands. The four Kindergarten Classic Series finals for 2-year-old pacers and trotters are races 6-9.