by Mark Ratzky, publicity, Cal-Expo

Sacramento, CA — Lily’s Hi Ho, leading the nation this year with seven tallies and going for his 10th straight victory, steps up a notch for Saturday’s feature (March 5) at Cal Expo and might very well get his toughest challenge from stablemate Ivegotwhatuneed.

Bob Johnson conditions both of these outstanding California-breds, owning Lily’s Hi Ho outright and sharing the bills with Marty Garey on Ivegotwhatuneed. Lemoyne “Mooney” Svendsen, who has been the regular pilot for both, ends up on Lily’s Hi Ho for their initial meeting at the head of the pacing class.

“I left it up to Mooney, and he went with Lily’s Hi Ho,” Johnson explained. “Rick (Plano) will be driving Ivegotwhatuneed, and I’ve already said that I was going to leave the strategy up to them. Both horses have versatile racing styles, so they have a lot of options.”

Lily’s Hi Ho is a 4-year-old son of Hi Ho Silverheel’s who has only made 34 starts in his career and really hit his stride last fall. He swept through the Denali series earlier this year in eye-catching fashion, and kept his streak alive last week in a high-priced conditioned claimer.

“He won himself out of that condition last week, so it’s time to move him up and see what he can do against this group,” his mentor explained. “He still puts a few steps in here and there, but he’s very sharp right now and it should be interesting.”

As mentioned earlier, Lily’s Hi Ho may find his biggest foe in a pacer who lives right next door. Ivegotwhatuneed is an 8-year-old who calls Givemewhatineed dad and has amassed $260,000 in his career with a 1:52 mark from two years ago. He won at this level two back and was runner-up to Haggin Oaks last week after carving out all the fractions.

“I guess it’s shaping up as the old class horse versus the young up-and-comer,” Johnson noted. “There are also some other nice horses in there, so on a fast track I wouldn’t surprised if it takes a 1:53 mile or less to win it.”

Live racing resumes at Cal Expo on Thursday (March 3) and continues through Saturday (March 5). Post time on Thursday is 5:30 p.m. (PST). Post time on Friday and Saturday is at 6 p.m.