Three's a Crowd rallies from last to upset Hilton

Three 's a Crowd ($32.40), responding to a change of riders, upset Saturday night's $51,500 Robert Hilton Memorial Stakes at Charles Town.

The Hilton is the last local prep for horses pointing to the $100,000 Onion Juice and the $500,000 West Virginia Breeders Classic on Oct. 20.

A 4-year-old gelding owned and bred by James Casey, Three's a Crowd was beaten more than 18 lengths in the first two starts of his current form cycle. Ridden for the first time by Travis Dunkelberger, Three's a Crowd was last of nine runners through the first half-mile of the seven-furlong Hilton. He swung three wide on the turn for home and got up in the final stride to defeat 2-1 favorite Hello Out There by a head.

Eastern Delite finished third, a neck behind Hello Out There. The winning time was 1:26.60.

As a 3-year-old, Three's a Crowd finished third in last year's seven-furlong West Virginia Lottery on the Breeders Classic program.

In the $50,800 Roger Van Hoozer Memorial for fillies and mares, second choice Julie B ($5) cruised to a 4 1/4-length victory, improving her record locally to 9 for 11 lifetime, including last fall's $315,000 Cavada on Breeders Classic Night. The Van Hoozer is a prep for the Cavada.

Ridden by Larry Reynolds for trainer George Yetsook, Julie B covered the seven furlongs in 1:26.15.
Shesagrumptoo finished second, three-quarters of a length in front of Carnival Chrome, the 7-5 favorite.