It’s been all or nothing of late for Ivegotwhatuneed, as the eight-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 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 Cal-Expo's Saturday, January 29 headliner. Bob Johnson conditions and co-owns the son of Givemewhatineed with Marty Gary. Lemoyne Svendsen will be in his usual spot in the sulky on Saturday.

“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. In that tilt he got the job done in first-over fashion while looking more like an odds-on performer.

“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 she 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.”

Live racing will resume at Cal-Expo on Thursday, January 27 and will continue through Saturday, January 29. First-race post time on Thursday is 5:30 p.m. (PST). First-race post time on Friday, January 28 and Saturday is at 6:00 p.m.

On Saturdays, Cal Expo offers a reduced 15 percent takeout rate on both the Early & Late Pick-4 wagers with both Pick-4’s having a $10,000 gross guaranteed pool.

(Cal-Expo)