This is not a story about another high-priced, Chad Brown-trained runner, or about another blue blood, Godolphin-owned and bred horse. Rather it’s about hope. Hope and dreams for the little guy, or in this case, girl.

Free Like a Girl may have been a nobody when she arrived on the scene at the Equine Sales of Louisiana 2020 yearling sale, but in her heart, she’d be a queen.

With the 2024 Breeders’ Cup looming, I doubt many race fans had Friday night’s card at Delta Downs on their radar. If that’s true, you missed the 5-year-old daughter of El Deal doing what she does best.

Back running in her home state for the first time in six starts, the classy mare was ready to shine. A true rags-to-riches success story, Free Like a Girl ran to her high expectations in the $100,000 Magnolia Stakes.

The Chasey Deville-Pomier trainee was sent to the gate at odds of 2-5 in the seven-furlong event for fillies and mares bred in Louisiana. Breaking sharply from her outside post position, she comfortably found a good spot behind the early leaders.

When asked for more, Free Like a Girl responded with a burst of speed on the outside for rider Elio Barrera. From there it was just a cruise down the stretch to win by 2 3/4 easy lengths over game runner-up Miss Priority.

While it was nothing new, with each victory she adds to her credentials, it provides greater reason to celebrate what a special horse she has been for her connections.

“We have fully enjoyed and are grateful for every moment of this incredible journey she has taken us on,” Deville-Pomier said. “She has so much personality in her daily care, and she leaves me speechless every time she walks on the track.”

Owned in partnership by Gerald Bruno Jr., Deville-Pomier and Jerry Caroom, Free Like a Girl was bred in Louisiana by Kim Renee Stover and Lisa Osborne. To say Free Like a Girl came from a modest background would be a bit of an understatement.

By a sire who stands in Louisiana for $2,500 and out of Flashy Prize, a Flashy Bull mare who won only a maiden and an allowance at Turf Paradise in her 11-race career, it makes perfect sense that Free Like a Girl would not have been considered a major prize as a yearling.

She sold for $5,500, in fact, and did not break her maiden until her fourth career start. The 6 1/2-length romp at Evangeline Downs showed promise, though, and Free Like a Girl quickly began to figure things out.

A stakes winner in Louisiana-bred company before her 2-year-old season was over, she has been taking her connections on the ride of a lifetime ever since.

She became so good in her native state that she was given opportunities to prove herself outside the friendly confines of Louisiana. At 3 she tried graded-stakes company four times, finishing fourth in the Honeybee (G3) at Oaklawn, third in the Iowa Oaks (G3) at Prairie Meadows and second in both the Charles Town Oaks (G3) and the Remington Park Oaks (G3).

Through her busy racing schedule she continued to thrive and get better. Unlike the blue bloods who get most of the attention in her sport, Free Like a Girl has run regularly throughout and now has made 43 career starts.

She has even provided her trainer and part owner an opportunity to teach her family life lessons.

“For my children, when Free has been the underdog, it’s given me the opportunity to show them how you can overcome anything,” Deville-Pomier said.

And as an underdog she has proven to have the heart of a champion that most horses lack. Many of those horses cost one hundred times as much as she did and more.

In 2024, Free Like a Girl has tested the deepest waters and has proven that she belongs. A winner of the $500,000 Pink Ribbon Stakes at Charles Town in August, her 5-year-old season also has brought her first attempts at Grade 1 racing.

She never was going to beat the likes of Adare Manor and Idiomatic in those races, but a third-place effort in the $1.25 million Apple Blossom and a game second in the $1 million Fleur de Lis have proven the bargain basement Louisiana-bred can compete with anyone.

Back at home with fellow state-breds Friday, it was an opportunity for the home fans to enjoy the star of Louisiana. The victory was her 19th from 43 career starts in four seasons of racing. It also raised her career bankroll to just a shade under $2 million.

A winner of six starts from nine tries at Delta Downs, Free Like a Girl’s career earnings of $1,979,978 make her the richest horse in history among Louisiana-breds. Not bad for a filly who was purchased for only $5,500 four years ago.

Not surprisingly, Free Like a Girl has meant plenty to many who follow her.

“I have also enjoyed watching her fans embrace and support her and when I have the opportunity to hear their stories it brings such fulfillment to the job,” Deville-Pomier said.

And she is more than just a local star now. Proven at some of the highest levels in the sport, the Louisiana-bred mare has shown us a wonderful horse can come from anywhere. In many ways she is everything that’s right in our sport.

Most of all she is a wonderful reminder of what is possible in Thoroughbred horse racing. From pauper to princess, Free Like a Girl is a champion in my book.