Free Like a Girl closing in on Louisiana record, could go in Fleur de Lis
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Free Like a Girl, who placed in back-to-back Grade 1 races this spring, now ranks third among all accredited Louisiana-breds in earnings and could make a serious move up the charts next month.
Trainer Chasey Deville-Pomier said Wednesday that Free Like a Girl could make her next start in the Grade 2, $500,000 Fleur de Lis on June 29 at Churchill Downs. The mare made her last start at the Kentucky track and was second in the La Troienne won by returning champion Idiomatic.
“I could have not have asked for any better,” Deville-Pomier said of the performance from Free Like a Girl. “We knew it was tough going into it. We were just hoping to catch a break being other mares were coming off a layoff.
“We’re definitely proud of her.”
The effort pushed Free Like a Girl’s earnings to $1,618,478. She now trails just all-time leader Star Guitar, who earned $1,749,862 in his career, and Happy Ticket, who retired with a bankroll of $1,688,838. The standings are posted on the website of the Louisiana Thoroughbred Breeders Association.
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Free Like a Girl is based at Evangeline Downs. She had a few weeks off after the La Troienne, Deville-Pomier said.
“She’s training good,” she said. “There’s been talk of the Fleur de Lis, but nothing’s definite yet. But I think we’re making plans for that.”
Deville-Pomier said Free Like a Girl could race at Saratoga later this year. Back in April, she was third to Adare Manor in the Grade 1 Apple Blossom at Oaklawn.
Options for Frosted Grace
The next move is yet to be determined for millionaire Frosted Grace, who was third by three-quarters of length in the Grade 3, $400,000 Steve Sexton Mile on Monday at Lone Star Park.
Trainer Mike Maker said an option is the $100,000 Michael G. Schaefer Memorial at Horseshoe Indianapolis. The mile and 70-yard race is July 6.
“That’s a possibility, but it’s still too early to say,” Maker said.
Frosted Grace won the Grade 3 Oaklawn Mile in April.
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