Sunbean a Strong Favorite in LA Legends Handicap

Coming off a nearly two-month layoff following a third place showing in the Grade II New Orleans Handicap, Sunbean has been made the clear 1-2 morning line favorite for Saturday’s Louisiana Legends Classic Stakes at Evangeline Downs. Offering a purse of $100,000, the race will be run over 1 1/16 miles on the dirt. Restricted to Louisiana breds aged three and up, the race is the last of eight stakes races limited to LA breds on the card on Louisiana Legends Night at the track.

Sunbean has dominated state competiton in the last year

A four-year-old gelding by Brahms, Sunbean had won five of his previous six starts, and finished second in the other, prior to the New Orleans Handicap, with all five wins coming in state-bred stakes. He was competitive for the most part in the New Orleans Handicap, beaten by 2013 Belmont Stakes winner Palace Malice and Grade I stakes-placed Normandy Invasion, and finishing ahead of 2013 Kentucky Derby runner-up Golden Soul. Sunbean sports a record of eight wins in 14 lifetime starts.

Second choice has been in the money on the track

Set to challenge him is Arkansas Martini, who has just his maiden score and a pair of allowance wins to his credit, but who found some success in stakes company at Evangeline last year, with a second place finish in the Evangeline Mile Handicap, and a third in this event. Rounding out the trifecta could be Heavy On Themister, who, although zero for five in 2014, does have seven wins in 23 lifetime starts, and seven other in-the-money finishes lifetime for earnings just shy of $500,000. Beauty’s Pioneer (8-1) and Coneyo Fontova (10-1) round out the field.