Free Like a Girl fresh for Louisiana Legends Soiree
Free Like a Girl returns to the Louisiana-bred ranks Saturday night after hooking the eventual winner of the Kentucky Oaks in a company line that jumps off the page in the $75,000 Louisiana Legends Soiree at Evangeline Downs.
The Soiree, for 3-year-old fillies at a mile, is one of six $75,000 stakes on a card spotlighting Louisiana-breds. Purses for the races total $450,000, making for the richest card of the meet at Evangeline Downs.
Free Like a Girl is one of the headline acts Saturday, while a good deal of attention also will be on 21-length maiden winner Touchuponastar in the $75,000 Cheval.
“It’s a fun night,” said Jake Delhomme, the retired NFL quarterback who races Touchuponastar. “That’s why you race – you look forward to big days like this.”
Free Like a Girl has won five of her last seven starts, with all of those victories coming in stakes in Louisiana. She ventured to Arkansas for her last start, and ran fourth to Secret Oath, eventual winner of the Kentucky Oaks, in the Grade 3 Honeybee on Feb. 26 at Oaklawn Park.
“We knew it was tough going into it,” said Chasey Deville-Pomier. “We needed to see where she was at. We sent her up a week before the race. We were proud of her effort. It definitely was a monster she was running against – an amazing filly. It was an amazing group of fillies.”
Yuugiri, who was third in the Honeybee, came back to win the Grade 2, $600,000 Fantasy at Oaklawn.
Free Like a Girl had a little downtime following the Honeybee.
“We gave her a break after the race at Oaklawn,” Pomier said. “We gave her a little time. We tried to enter her in a couple of prep races, see how she’s come back, but they didn’t go. She’s tearing down the barn.”
Free Like a Girl is a perfect 2 for 2 on the main track at Evangeline.
“She’s very versatile, likes pretty much any track,” Pomier said. “She started [out] at Delta and Evangeline, and this is what she’s used to. She trains every day at Evangeline. There’s more of a routine here.”
Pedro Cotto Jr. has the mount from post 6.
The Cheval, which also will be run at a mile, will mark the two-turn debut for Touchuponastar. His double-digit maiden win came in his second career start May 13 at Evangeline. He covered seven furlongs in 1:22.80 and earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 88, the top last-race number in Saturday’s competitive field of eight.
“I think it’s the best race on the card,” Delhomme said.
Touchuponastar is trained by Delhomme’s brother, Jeff. The gelding by Star Guitar has been favored in both of his starts, with his other out a runner-up finish in a maiden special weight in March at Fair Grounds. Prior to that start, Touchuponastar had been scratched from a race at 2.
“He’s a horse that we really liked all along,” Jake Delhomme said. “We had him in the first or second weekend at the Fair Grounds and his shins kind of bothered him – normal stuff . He’s a big, strong colt. We gave him a little time and brought him back, and he gets in a maiden race the last day of the meet at Fair Grounds.”
Touchuponastar broke last of all and had a less-than-ideal trip from there, when he missed by a half-length in the field of 12. He returned to win his maiden for fun at Evangeline.
“We expected him to run extremely well, because he had a couple breezes following the maiden race that were very impressive,” Delhomme said. “We’re going to take a shot Saturday. We think he’s a very nice horse. We’ll see what happens. I think he’ll give a good account of himself, but we do understand it’s a tough race.”
Tim Thornton has the mount on Touchuponastar from post 5.
Vodka Gimlet put together back-to-back stakes wins at two turns this February at Delta and is returning to a route distance in the Cheval. Cosmic Town was a winner of the Crescent City Derby in March at Fair Grounds. More Memories is 4 for 8 and looking for his first stakes win Saturday.
◗ Net a Bear is back on turf for the Distaff at a mile, and has won her last four grass races. Thornton has the mount for trainer Allen Landry.
◗ Ova Charged is going for her fourth straight win Saturday in the Mademoiselle at 5 1/2 furlongs. During her streak, she’s won two stakes, including the Louisiana Champions Day Ladies Sprint.
◗ Yankee Seven will be chasing after his fourth straight win when he starts in the Sprint at 5 1/2 furlongs.
◗ The Turf field of 12 is led by Mangelsen, who enters off back-to-back turf route wins at Fair Grounds. Jareth Loveberry is in to ride for trainer Ron Faucheux.
◗ During the races, Evangeline will honor Louisiana standouts Steve Bourque, James Shamsie, Billy Trotter, Pierre LeBlanc, Don Stemmans, and Don Cormier, according to track official Tracey Coonce.