KINGSTON, Jamaica – On Sunday, June 25, 2023, trainer Donovan Hutchinson stood beaming with delight in the winners’ enclosure along with his prized asset, Further and Beyond, as he celebrated his first career winner as a licensed conditioner.
Hutchinson achieved his milestone when Further and Beyond won the Hubert Bartley Memorial Trophy on the 10-race card.
Further and Beyond, who was racing for the second time this season after a nearly year-long rehabilitation layoff, easily defeated rivals by a length and a half over seven and a half furlongs (1,500m) in a time of 1:34.1 (24.4 x 48.2 x 1:12.1).
Ridden by Bebeto Harvey, Further and Beyond won ahead of Green Gold Rush and Power in third place.
“I am feeling good. I mean, it is a very nice feeling to win my first race as a trainer. This horse is a good horse, and I got him thanks to owners Vickram Oditt and Collin Elcock. The team members at the stables have responded well, doing a very good job,” Hutchinson said in his post-race interview.
“You know, I got this horse and I put him down; and I feel like I got him where I am supposed to get him now because everything goes with patience — It took a little time to get him going. In his first run he came second, and this time he won, and I am very grateful as a new trainer for winning a big race,” he further stated.
Hutchinson stated that the triumph from Further and Beyond was primarily due to the rider obeying the riding instructions.
“Everybody does things differently. I have to make the difference as the trainer, and my team did a wonderful job. And thanks to the owners that gave me a chance, as you know the horse wasn’t sound. The jockey rode an excellent race; he rode off instructions. The jockey did a good job and the horse didn’t run away like the last time,” he said.
“I have 12 horses under my care, and on the farm I have a couple of them coming in September, so I am trying, as I have good owners. I have a horse coming in from overseas that won a couple of races over there and so the owner [Jeremy] is here as well. It is the second time he is coming to Jamaica, and he is one of my top owners as well,” Hutchinson added.
When asked if the foreigner runner was coming in for the Mouttet Mile, Hutchinson was very guarded in his response.
“Well, hopefully, as you will never know. That’s horses; when they come you hope to do your best with them, and you know they can’t talk so you have to be the trainer to see what they are doing and then we take it from there. Everybody wants to go to the Mouttet Mile as everybody likes money but the horses have to tell you that they can be there.
“With Further and Beyond we have to just take it one day at a time with him; better things are down the road. Let’s see how he comes out of this race and take it from there. I am a patient trainer,” Hutchinson said.
Hutchinson acknowledges the support of his daughter, Odecia.
“I have been in racing for a very long time, and my daughter Odecia has been with me through it all. I brought a couple of horses and named one after her, Princess Deci. My daughter has been here with me since she was a baby and now she is a big lady, to show you how long she has been by my side,” he said.
Odecia expressed her joy for her father and stated that she will always be there for him.
“It is a wonderful feeling. He deserves it; he works really hard. He is a great trainer, he is a great dad, and further [than that] and beyond. I am always there with him and will continue to be by his side. I mean, it is because of him that I am here at the races because he gave me no choice,” Odecia said.
