Many expected the $500,000 Robert Hilton Memorial at Charles Town on Friday to be a showdown between Kentucky Derby runners Owen Almighty and Neoequos. But when half the field broke near the front and ensured a brutal early pace, 3-year-old gelding Barbadian Runner went to work against classier rivals and powered home late to win by 2 1/2 lengths.  With Laurel Park on a summer break, trainer Henry Walters has sent Barbadian Runner on a packed tour of the Mid-Atlantic region. The Maryland-bred star, now a four-time stakes winner, has run at five tracks in six starts since May. He entered the Robert Hilton Memorial off of three-straight runner-up finishes in stakes company.  In the local ranks, the gelding has long been known for his powerful closing move, but it has also always helped him to have the right pace out in front. While he and jockey Forest Boyce settled back to seventh in the field of eight, others in the Hilton Memorial set things up perfectly for him in the early going.  :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. The run into the first turn more closely resembled a game of King of the Hill as Faster Gator, Tres Coronas, Neoequos, and Can Do Andrew all gunned for the early lead. Gunmetal and Owen Almighty chased just behind with clear intent.   Eventually, track position determined the winner of the early scrap, and Faster Gator cut the corner entering the backstretch to lead by a length through a brisk opening quarter-mile in 22.72 seconds. Jockey Arnaldo Bocachica successfully slowed things down through a half-mile in 46.97, but that only intensified the duel as Neoequos and Gunmetal advanced to press the pace in the run to the far turn.    With so much action near the front of the field, it would have been easy to miss an extremely familiar move from the back of the pack. As closers go, the best are often either wind-swift or inertia personified, and Barbadian Runner appeared unstoppable chugging along from seventh on the rail.  After saving all the ground to re-engage with the top flight, Boyce angled the gelding out to circle five rivals turning for home. Faster Gator and Neoequos led into the stretch and battled gamely on the inside, but they were powerless against Barbadian Runner’s charge down the center. In the biggest victory of his career so far, he completed the seven-furlong sprint in 1:26.39 and paid $21.60 to win.  Neoequos and Irad Ortiz Jr. won the compensatory duel for second by a half-length, giving trainer Joseph his third stakes finish in the money on the Charles Town card. He went on to earn two more in the Charles Town Oaks when Indy Bay won over third-place finisher Andrea.   Faster Gator had his work cut out for him from the very beginning on the rail, and though he took a Kentucky Derby runner to the limit in the stretch, he and Bocachica had to settle for third for trainer Anthony Farrior.  In his first start since the Kentucky Derby, 3-2 favorite Owen Almighty never got going from fifth and was eased through the stretch before walking off. Not getting the lead may have hurt his chances on Friday, but the two-turn sprint on a unique Charles Town track may have also taken a toll after nearly four months off.  Mystic Lake wires Pink Ribbon Stakes Mystic Lake, a 4-year-old filly trained by Saffie Joseph Jr., took full advantage of a four-horse field in the $250,000 Misty Bennett Pink Ribbon Stakes at Charles Town on Friday. Jockey Tyler Gaffalione never had to worry on the front end while the filly cruised home to a three-length victory.  Joseph had been eager to ship Mystic Lake to Charles Town for months, describing it as a long-term goal while the filly earned back-to-back stakes victories at Lone Star and Delaware Park. When the field for the Pink Ribbon seemed unlikely to fill, Joseph even entered 4-year-old filly Save Time in order to ensure that it stayed on the card.  Last year, Mystic Lake won the Charles Town Oaks by 5 3/4 lengths, and the trainer correctly assumed that she would deliver another strong performance at the track this year. It was the first of two stakes victories on Friday for Gaffalione, who went on to win the Grade 1, $1 million Charles Town Classic aboard Banishing.  Gaffalione had to do a lot more work to win the Classic, but in the Pink Ribbon, he easily guided Mystic Lake to the front and never trailed a step.   This year’s running of the Pink Ribbon featured the last two winners of the Charles Town Oaks, but 1-2 favorite Vahva never had much of a chance against her front-running rival. Coming off her second straight victory in the Grade 2 Chicago, the 2023 Oaks winner struggled to make a stalking bid after Mystic Lake ran the opening quarter-mile in 24.46 and half-mile in 48.93.  After nursing her along on the backstretch, Gaffalione unleashed Mystic Lake around the far turn and entered the stretch with a five-length lead. Vahva made up some late ground in second, but she never got close. Mystic Lake completed the seven-furlong sprint in 1:25.73 and paid $4.60 to win.  Save Time, Joseph’s race-saving longshot, actually stuck to Vahva around both turns before fading to finish four lengths behind in third. She finished 1 1/2 lengths ahead of Free Like a Girl, who brought up the rear for trainer Chasey Pomier.  Charles Town also featured four statebred stakes races on a packed 13-race card Friday, giving local connections their chance at a big moment on Charles Town Classic Day.  Trainer Jeff Runco and jockey Arnaldo Bocachica were the big winners early on the card, as The Sky Is Falling won the $75,000 Sadie Hawkins shortly before Duncan Idaho took the $40,000 Last Enchantment.  The Sky Is Falling could not have been better named when she came flying from out of the clouds to win by two lengths. She completed the seven-furlong sprint in 1:27.30 and paid $10.20 to win. The 6-year-old mare won the 2022 running of the Sadie Hawkins and is now on a three-race winning streak.   While 1-2 favorite Maggie’s Girl and 8-1 outsider Juba’s Parade engaged in an early speed duel around the first turn through a quarter-mile in 23.45, The Sky Is Falling settled nearly 10 lengths behind, last in the field of five under jockey Arnaldo Bocachica.  Petty Perfect, the 5-2 second choice trained by Kristy Petty, took the first crack at the lead in the stretch, but the filly could not outkick The Sky Is Falling in the late stages. While the runaway closer dashed off to an easy victory, Petty Perfect prevailed by 1 1/4 lengths for second over Juba’s Parade, a 5-year-old mare trained by Wade Sanderson.  An hour after his stablemate flew home in the Sadie Hawkins, Duncan Idaho won his fifth straight for Runco in the Last Enchantment. The 4 1/2-furlong specialist has spent his entire 22-race career at Charles Town, racking up 15 victories.  The 5-year-old horse went to the lead in his last two starts, but Honeyquist and 67-1 longshot Jefferson Native were quicker out of the gate in the Last Enchantment and completed the opening quarter-mile in 21.77.  Bocachica, a seasoned rider at 4 1/2 furlongs, decided to keep Duncan Idaho in the clear on the outside and gradually made his way to the lead. With bounding strides, he struck the front turning for home and pulled away to win by 1 1/2 lengths, completing the sprint in 52.02 and paying $2.40 to win.  Youthinkthatsfunny, one of two entered by Farrior, closed from fifth to finish second by 1 1/2 lengths. Honeyquist, his stablemate, held on for third after taking the early lead.  Party Time for Me upsets Autumn Charles Town ran two more statebred stakes to wrap up its 13-race card on Friday, and both races rewarded those still in attendance with strong racing action to the last wire.   In the $40,000 Autumn, 19-1 longshot Party Time for Me made the most of a determined closing trip to upset 1-5 favorite Overnight Pow Wow by a nose. After more than three decades in the industry, it was Anthony Grigsby’s first stakes victory as a trainer and owner.  If not for a medication violation in July, Overnight Pow Wow would have entered the Autumn with a five-racing winning streak and was clearly an overwhelming presence in defeat in the Autumn.   The 4-year-old filly weathered a three-horse duel through an opening quarter-mile in 21.83 and seemed ready to kick away in the stretch. The early action proved to be too much, however, and left her just vulnerable enough for Party Time for Me and jockey Joe Stokes to make a desperate closing bid from sixth.   After two straight losses in allowance company, the longshot came through on a bigger stage, completing the 4 1/2-furlong sprint in 52.51 and paying $41.20 to win. Moonlit Kiss finished 3 1/2 lengths behind in third for trainer Tim Grams.  The heavy favorite in the last race was also desperate for the wire, but 5-year-old gelding Teachintherelease hung on to win the $75,000 Frank Gall Memorial Stakes by 2 1/4 lengths for trainer Stephen Murdock. He completed the seven furlongs in 1:25.39 and paid $4 to win.  Jockey Carlos Lopez guided the even-money favorite to an easy early lead entering the first turn and extended on the backstretch, clearly commanding the field of 10 through a half-mile in 48.40. With the race well in hand, Lopez urged Teachintherelease to make a big move on the turn and led by six lengths entering the stretch.   The blowout attempt completely zapped the gelding, but it also gave him the cushion he needed. No Change, a 7-year-old gelding trained by McKee, came charging hard from last, but he ran out of room and had to settle for second. He finished 2 3/4 lengths ahead of his stablemate, 8-1 outsider Catch the Humor, who chased the favorite around the track without challenging.  :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.