When it comes to appearance, Double Deceiver is, well, deceiving.

Small in stature, the three-year-old male trotter is big in heart. Purchased for $17,000 at the 2020 Lexington Selected Yearling Sale, the Carter Pinske trainee has hit the board in 19 of 24 career races, winning 10, and earned more than $750,000.

On Thursday, Double Deceiver will compete in the $143,950 Matron Stakes for three-year-old male trotters at Bally’s Dover. He heads to the event off a second-place finish in last month’s Breeders Crown and is the 5-2 morning-line second choice behind Breeders Crown winner King Of The North at 2-1.

Double Deceiver and driver David Miller will start from post one in the eight-horse field.

“He’s just a little horse,” said Pinske. “People look at him and say, ‘That’s Double Deceiver?’ He’s kind of plain looking, but he’s quick and he always tries as hard as he can. You can’t discount him ever. Anytime he’s had a bad run, it’s either due to traffic or something out of his control. I can’t say enough about him.”

Double Deceiver was a bit of a project as a young horse but blossomed as he made his way through his two-year-old campaign, which included a victory in the Kentucky Championship Series final. This season, he has picked up two wins on the Grand Circuit, including his Breeders Crown elimination, and finished second in the MGM Yonkers Trot.

“From the beginning, he always showed ability, always showed a bit of speed, when he paid attention,” said Pinske. “David Miller has driven him every start and really took care of him. Every start he got better and he’s a real professional now. You can do anything you want with him and I give a lot of the credit to Dave for always doing right by him.”

Earlier this year, Double Deceiver captured a leg of the Kentucky Championship Series in a career-best 1:50.2 at Lexington’s Red Mile. He started from post eight and rallied from third, three lengths back, with a :26 last quarter. The winning time is tied for the second fastest by a three-year-old male trotter this season.

“That wasn’t the biggest race he was in, but it showed what type of horse he is, how gritty he is,” said Pinske. “He beat some good horses that were sharp at the time.

“That’s the cool thing about him; he’s a small horse but he can go around any size track. He’s kept his form from June until November and, hopefully, he gives us one more good start on Thursday.”

Double Deceiver, a son of Cantab Hall-Sarcy owned by Pinske’s wife Makenna and Pinske Stables, will make his final start for his current connections in the Matron. The gelding is in Friday’s mixed sale at the Standardbred Horse Sale.

“I never imagined I would buy a $17,000 horse off the cuff and he’d make as much money as he has,” said the 27-year-old Pinske, who purchased 21 yearlings this fall in preparation for his third year with a training stable. “He’s been a really good horse to us.”

The Matron for three-year-old male trotters, race eight on Thursday’s 15-race card, is one of four Matron Stakes for sophomore trotters and pacers at Dover.

Joviality S, a career winner of $2 million in purses, is the 2-1 favourite in the Matron for the female trotters, which is race six. She is coming off a third-place finish in the Breeders Crown and meets a field of seven rivals that includes Breeders Crown runner-up Raised By Lindy, who is the 3-1 second choice.

Niki Hill, who has two wins and two seconds (both by a neck) since returning in September from a three-month layoff, is the 2-1 favourite in the event for female pacers, race 10. She was second in the Breeders Crown and will see the Crown’s third- and fourth-place finishers, Boudoir Hanover and Silver Label, in the Matron.

Breeders Crown champion Pebble Beach is the 2-1 choice in the race for male pacers, which is race 12. Crown runner-up I Did It Myway is the 5-2 second choice.

Action for Thursday’s 15-race card begins at 4:30 p.m. (EST). Complete entries for the card are available by clicking here.

(With files from USTA)