Statebred restricted races, by their very nature, have a limited ceiling in the thrills department, but the $150,000 Louisiana Champions Day Classic at Fair Grounds was about as exciting as races get, with Sunbean edging a dead game String King by a head bob after a stretch-long battle. The pacesetting Skip the Pinot also declined to yield after being headed in midstretch, sticking with the top two until the final yards, finishing about a length back in third. Sunbean, bred and owned by the Brittlyn Stable of Maurice and Evelyn Benoit, was among the best young horses stabled at Fair Grounds last winter, his foray into major-race competition in the Louisiana Derby, in which he finished eighth, foiled by a dreadful trip. That was Sunbean’s last start for trainer Al Stall, who had trained the great Louisiana-bred Star Guitar for the Benoits. Sunbean made two starts in Kentucky, a fifth in the Lexington and a disappointing sixth in the Matt Winn, before being transferred to Louisiana-based trainer Ron Faucheux. But the best thing to happen to Sunbean was a return to Louisiana-bred competition: In July, he won a $100,000 stakes at Evangeline Downs, taking a similar race last month at Delta. In fact, since losing his debut by a nose, Sunbean has never lost in statebred restricted company, the Classic win his sixth straight in such races. But this was only barely. The top three finishers were the principals throughout the race. On a track turned sloppy by late-card rain, Skip the Pinot made a clear early lead under Mark Guidry, his first quarter a solid 23.92 seconds, but the opening half a tepid 49.30. String King tracked the leader while Sunbean tracked String King, who moved under James Graham to challenge for the lead about three furlongs out. String King might have stuck his head in front at the quarter pole, but Skip the Pinot quickly countered as Sunbean and Richard Eramia attacked three wide. Trapped between horses, String King briefly dropped to third at about the eighth pole, but he battled back stoutly and was gaining at the finish on Sunbean, whose head bobbed down at an opportune moment. “We couldn’t have asked him for more today,” said Faucheux. Sunbean, favored throughout the betting, paid $4.60 to win, timed in 1:53.39 for 1 1/8 miles. By Brahms, Sunbean is out of the Brittlyn mare X Strawdnaire, and is the fifth generation of his family bred by the Benoits.