Barbados captures second straight stakes in Hutcheson S. (G3)

Barbados became Speightstown’s latest graded stakes winner on Saturday with a thrilling half-length victory in the $150,000 Hutcheson S. (G3) at Gulfstream Park.

Barbados is Speightown’s 25th lifetime graded stakes winner and is the first multiple stakes winner of 2015 following his victory in the Jan. 3 Spectacular Bid S., also at Gulfstream.

The seven-furlong Hutcheson wound up a two-horse race in the stretch. After X Y Jet set a lively pace of :45.23 through a half-mile, Barbados caught up to the early leader in upper stretch. That duo pulled away from the rest of the field, with Barbados bearing down on the outside and getting the measure of his foe in deep stretch.

The final time on a fast track was 1:24.39.

Mike Tomlinson, on HRTV afterwards, related that his rider felt comfortable despite the relatively close finish. “Saez told me, ‘He (X Y Jet) wouldn’t have gotten by me (at any time).’ I’m very proud of the horse and extremely happy.”

As far as what’s next, Tomlinson said, “It’s definitely in the plans (to go long). We’ll have to see how he comes out of this race and talk it over.”

Barbados has now bankrolled $205,720 with three wins from five starts. He is undefeated in three starts on the main track. He was bred in Kentucky by Tommy Town Thoroughbreds and sold by WinStar Racing for $340,000 at the 2014 Keeneland November sale.