Trainer Henry Walters went 21 years between stakes wins. This time, he waited just four weeks.

Less than a month after Barbadian Runner gave Walters his first stakes win since 2004, the three-year-old son of Barbados scored his second consecutive stakes win in a thrilling renewal of the $100,000 Miracle Wood Stakes for three-year-olds at Laurel Park.

“It’s great,” Walters said with a laugh after the race.

As in the January 25 Spectacular Bid, Barbadian Runner’s margin of victory was spare: just a nose this time after having won the prior race by a head.

The three-year-old stakes sequence at Laurel takes on a logic of its own, and while Walters has said that he thinks Barbadian Runner may be more adept as a sprinter, certainly he and owner Scott Groh (AJ Will Win Stable) will be tempted to consider the next step: the March 22 Private Terms at Laurel Park, which is contested at 1 1/16 miles.

“I can’t say that we shouldn’t try it,” Walters said. “But if I stick to my plans, he’s probably going to go to the farm for three or four weeks.”

The Miracle Wood developed without any early pace at all, Spectacular Bid runner-up Crab Daddy doling out a half-mile in a tepid 48.91 seconds while closely shadowed by Pay Billy. The latter moved to a half-length lead after three quarters in 1:13.51.

Jockey Forest Boyce, aboard for the fourth consecutive start, had Barbadian Runner biding his time in third, just a couple off the lead duo. Turning for home, Boyce steered her mount outside for running room.

Barbadian Runner and Pay Billy kicked away from their rivals and engaged in a ding-dong duel in the lane, with Barbadian Runner getting the narrow advantage. Pay Billy finished second, nearly four lengths ahead of post-time favorite Sacred Thunder (6-5). Crab Daddy faded to fourth.

“He loves it,” Boyce said of her mount. “He’s so impressed with himself.”

Barbadian Runner paid a generous $10.20 to win in the five-horse field and topped a one-dollar exacta that returned $18.30. All the Hardways finished fifth, and Studlydoright scratched to await the John Battaglia Memorial Stakes Saturday evening at Turfway Park.

Running time for the one-turn mile on a fast main track 1:38.39.

Barbadian Runner, who struggled earlier with running straight, maintained a steady course most of the trip until late. A $5,000 auction purchase, he now has three wins and just shy of $200,000 banked from 10 career starts.

“Henry has him in a good set right now,” Boyce said. “When a horse is doing well, there’s no saying what they can do.”

Sophomores that won on January 25 made it a clean sweep today as Xtra Heat winner Onyx Ten sat another perfect trip to score by a length in the Wide Country Stakes under jockey JG Torrealba.

A Street Magician filly bred in Maryland by her owner Frank Sample, Onyx Ten has three wins from 10 starts and over $191,000 in earnings. Onyx Ten returned $8.20 after completing seven furlongs in 1:25.82.

Capuano said he expected to go forward to the one-mile Weber City Miss with Onyx Ten “as long as everything’s good.”

“As a three-year-old,” he added, “you kind of gotta get what you can when you can, because it gets tougher later.”