Green Beans earns shot at stakes in Edward P. Evans
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Green Beans, a 6-year-old gelding trained by Lynn Ashby, has spent most of his 19-race career as a pedestrian claimer, running for a $16,000 tag in five of his last seven starts. But through a confluence of fortunate breaks, the Virginia-bred will receive a golden opportunity to become a stakes winner in the $125,000 Edward P. Evans, a 1 1/16-mile turf race Saturday at Colonial Downs.
“Sometimes that race can come up tough and it’s a nice field, but it’s probably where he belongs,” Ashby said. “He’s improving with the layoff he had from last year.”
Following a winless 2025 campaign, Green Beans returned to Delaware Park in May, where Ashby said she was simply hoping to get him back on the track.
Though he struggled in a $16,000 starter/optional-claiming race taken off the turf May 30, the trainer saw enough to run him without a tag at the same level June 10. Back on the grass, he notched a professional 1 1/2-length victory, for which he earned a career-best 79 Beyer Speed Figure.
Despite not running at odds less than 4-1 in more than a year, Green Beans is the 3-1 co-second choice on the morning line in his stakes debut, which will feature seven Virginia-breds. Paco Lopez will ride, yet another somersaulting turn of fate for the workmanlike gelding.
“That was a gimme,” Ashby said. “I mean, my God. His agent, Jose Garcia, is a longtime friend of mine and said, ‘Paco wants to ride your horse.’ I said, ‘Oh my. Okay.’ ”
Trainer Robert Bailes said he is similarly enthusiastic about the spot for War Humor, the 5-2 morning-line favorite. Earlier this month, the 4-year-old gelding ran a distant second in a second-level allowance at Laurel Park.
Brookmeade Stakes
Switching surfaces in stakes company can often be risky, but trainer Niall Saville is willing to take the chance with Late Nite Call. Coming off three distant stakes defeats in open company on dirt, the 4-year-old filly will make her turf debut against Virginia-breds in the $125,000 Brookmeade Stakes on Saturday.
“She’s always been a freaky horse, but she’s very much enjoyed dirt, which is why I never let her go near the grass,” Saville said. “But if there’s ever an opportunity to run for $125,000 in this sort of class, I thought it was silly not to.”
In her last two starts, the $125,000 Allaire duPont Distaff at Laurel and $150,000 Obeah at Delaware, Late Nite Call ran well behind Brad Cox runners Margie’s Intention and Chasten. The class relief in the 1 1/16-mile Brookmeade is too much for Saville to pass up as his filly will take on six Virginia-bred fillies and mares with minimal stakes experience.
“We’ve been taking swings, knowing we’re running against at least one very good horse every time she’s ran this winter,” Saville said. “This time around, I don’t see that being the case.”
Day to Day, a 3-year-old filly trained by Saffie Joseph Jr., is the only other contender coming out of stakes company. She finished a distant third in the $125,000 Star Shoot on synthetic at Woodbine in April.
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