Fair Grounds notes: Sunbean picking his spots

Plans are fluid for Sunbean, who won his fourth straight race and his eighth from 13 career starts when he captured the Star Guitar Stakes by almost three lengths Saturday.

Sunbean, 7 for 7 in Louisiana-bred stakes competition, will be nominated to the March 29 New Orleans Handicap, but trainer Ron Faucheux is more inclined to bide his time than rush Sunbean back into action.

“I think he could compete against those horses, but the circumstances and timing aren’t ideal,” said Faucheux, who trains Sunbean for his breeder, the Brittlyn Stable of Maurice and Evelyn Benoit. “He came out of the race perfect, but he’s had a bunch of tough races in a row, and with a horse of his caliber with such a bright future, we don’t want to rush him or force him into races.”

Faucheux also said Class Included, the Brittlyn-owned mare who won the Feb. 22 Bayou Handicap, would be nominated to the Mervin Muniz Handicap, a race open to males. If the $300,000 Muniz looks like a soft spot for the money, Class Included might start; if not, a stakes race at Keeneland could be her next start.

Finally, Faucheux said Gantry would skip the Duncan Kenner Stakes on dirt this weekend in favor of the Colonel Power Stakes on turf March 15.

Featured race likely off turf

With rain in the forecast, the featured seventh of eight Wednesday races, a second-level allowance open to $40,000 claimers, might well wind up on dirt – which accounts for five main-track-only entrants.

But the horse to beat on dirt might reside in the main body of the field. Pushingonastring set the pace and held well in an off-the-turf race at this class level Feb. 13 and figures to make the lead from post 1 again Wednesday.

The turf pick is Dream Man, who has been ready to run for weeks but has been scratched from several races that were rained off grass.