by Mark Ratzky, publicity, Cal-Expo

Sacramento, CA — It’s been all or nothing of late for Ivegotwhatuneed, as the 8-year-old pacer closed out 2010 at Cal Expo with a 22-1 upset, rolled a pair of sixes in his first two starts of this year and then returned to the winner’s circle with a 10-1 score last weekend.

The dark-hued pacer will attempt to change the pattern when he leaves from the cozy one hole in Saturday night’s (Jan. 29) headliner. Bob Johnson conditions and co-owns the son of Givemewhatineed with Marty Gary while Lemoyne Svendsen will be in his usual spot in the sulky.

“He isn’t really built like his father, who was stocky and powerful,” noted Johnson, who had Givemewhatineed during many of his championship years. “The problem with this horse is his feet. They’re bad and he has to wear a bar shoe, which makes things real tough when there isn’t some kind of a cushion on the track.”

A closer look at Ivegotwhatuneed’s past performances reveals off the board finishes in his last three tries contested over sloppy or good tracks, with two wins from his last trio over fast ovals. It’s obvious he’s a different horse when he isn’t dealing with the elements.

Johnson relates he wasn’t as surprised as most when the pacer registered his $46 score on New Year’s Eve, getting the job done in first-over fashion while looking more like an odds-on choice that night.

“He was dropping in class and also getting back to a firm track, and his last few lines looked pretty bad because of the sloppy tracks.”

No threat in his next pair, Ivegotwhatuneed was back to getting his picture taken at 10-1 last week after a perfect second-over trip which found him nailing a game Haggin Oaks by a head after that mare had led him up.

“Mooney gave him a great drive that night and it made the difference,” Johnson said.

Ivegotwhatuneed is back with the same solid group on Saturday and will likely get more respect at the windows this time around, with the inside draw giving his mentor a little added confidence.

“Having the one hole with him is a plus, because it means he doesn’t have to be used early and can just settle in during the opening stages.”

Can this pacer change the recent pattern and make it two in a row? Stay tuned.

Live racing resumes at Cal Expo on Thursday (Jan. 27) and continues through Saturday (Jan. 29). Post time on Thursday is 5:30 p.m. (PST). Post time on Friday and Saturday is at 6 p.m.