LRL: Barbadian Runner looks to keep rolling in Small
The Biz
November 21, 2025
Barbadian Runner, the hard-knocking Maryland-bred who shocked heavy favorite Post Time in the Maryland Million Classic, again takes center stage in Saturday’s Richard W. Small Stakes at Laurel Park.
Trainer Henry Walters wasn’t exaggerating when he called the gelding “a throwback from yesteryear.” The 3-year-old gelding has started 18 times without a break since debuting in June 2024, piling up $730,630 in earnings after being purchased for just $5,000.
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“He surprised me from day one,” Walters said. “We never thought he’d turn out to be this good. He’s gotten better each time. He’s got way more talent than his breeding suggests.”
By Barbados out of the unraced Northern Afleet mare Quiet Run, Barbadian Runner won stakes sprinting early in the year, stretched out successfully in the off-turf Jersey Derby, and showed his class at Charles Town by upsetting the $500,000 Robert Hilton Memorial.
The Maryland Million posed two new tests in dethroning Grade 2 winner Post Time and stretching to nine furlongs, but Walters said the gelding had hinted a longer distance was coming into range.
“If you asked me three or four months ago, I’d have said nine furlongs wasn’t in his limits,” he admitted. “The race at Charles Town was seven-eighths for 3-year-olds. He beat some pretty good horses, and he couldn’t blow a match out after the race, so you knew there was more in the tank. He was getting better and better.”
In the Classic, Forest Boyce used his tactical speed to seize the advantage, and Barbadian Runner dug in late, turning back Post Time for a three-quarter-length win and a career-best 96 Beyer.
“He’s tough,” Walters said. “He just loves to run with horses. You give him a target and he’ll chase him down, or he’ll dig in.”
Barbadian Runner carries 124 pounds from post five as the 6-5 morning-line favorite.
Secret Zipper, a powerful front-runner for Gary Capuano, poses the primary pace threat in his stakes debut, with Hittheroadjak, Hardspun Reason, Phantom Speed, and Formal Affair also entered.
Saturday’s card also includes the Dave’s Friend and the Willa On the Move.
Takethemoneyhoney, brilliant in a local allowance blowout in April and winner of Monmouth’s Serena’s Song, is possible, though she is also cross-entered at Parx in the 6 ½-furlong Cornucopia Nov. 26. Unraced since May 11, she has won four of five career starts.
Takethemoneyhoney is the 3-1 morning line favorite in a competitive 12-horse field.
Maryland Million Distaff winner Onyx Ten, stakes winner St. Benedicts Prep, speedy Miss Harriett, and sharp recent runner Grammy Girl highlight a competitive Willa On the Move lineup, along with improving Sultry Lass and others.
The Willa On the Move, contested at 6 ½ furlongs for a $100,000 purse, is carded as the sixth race on a nine-race program. The Richard W. Small, race eight, is at nine furlongs for the same purse.
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RICHARD W. SMALL STAKES ENTRIES
| PostPosition | Horse | Odds | Jockey | Trainer | Owner |
| 1 | Hittheroadjak | 6-1 | NO RIDER | Sanchez-Salomon Rodolf | J R Sanchez Racing Stable LLC |
| 2 | Phantom Speed | 4-1 | Russell S | Saville Niall | Richard E. Harris & Stonegate Racing LLC |
| 3 | Formal Affair | 12-1 | Hernandez J F | Corrales Jose | Corrales Racing LLC |
| 4 | Hardspun Reason | 7-2 | Ruiz J | Motion H Graham | Sycamore Hall Thoroughbreds, LLC & Hillw |
| 5 | Barbadian Runner | 6-5 | Boyce F | Walters Henry R | AJ Will Win Stables LLC |
| 6 | Secret Zipper | 9-2 | Hazlewood Y | Capuano Gary | Frank Sample |
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