by Mark Ratzky, publicity, Cal-Expo

Sacramento, CA — Kimmie Girl, the diminutive trotting mare with the big heart who banked $257,000 for Walter and Patty Petersen, became a mom this spring when she dropped a Panama Hanover colt named Freedombird.

A multiple stakes winner with a 1:57 mark, Kimmie Girl was a fan favorite and over the course of 267 starts she recorded 36 wins, 47 seconds and 53 thirds under the Petersen banner. Her final appearance came in May of 2007.

“Freedombird was foaled on May 4 at Davis University,” Patty related. “He is the exact same color as his mom with beautiful doe eyes. He is a very friendly, kind and happy colt.

“Walter named him after the planes that used to take the soldiers home from Vietnam. He always said the soldiers were waiting for their freedom bird and hopefully this colt will follow in his mother’s footsteps.”

Kimmie Girl is a now 14-year-old daughter of Sacramento and the Bonefish mare Bonefide Girl who was purchased for a song out of a field as a youngster and proved to be one of the most durable performers of her generation following a successful stakes career in her younger days.

Panama Hanover is a 10-year-old son of Muscles Yankee who raced for The Gusty Stable and had a world of potential, but saw his racing days cut short by an injury. He’s now getting a chance to carry on in the breeding shed and it will be fun to keep tabs on his son, who happens to be out of one of the gamer mares of the last decade.