Just missing the track record at Fraser Downs in his last start, stakes winning pacer Kneedeep N Custard has been sold and debuted successfully for his new connections on Saturday (May 22).
A five-year-old son of Custard The Dragon - Art Amour, Kneedeep N Custard captured multiple stakes events for trainer Kelly Hoerdt and his co-owners Blair Corbeil and Fred Gilbert, most notably the Western Canada Pacing Derby and the Robert Murphy Memorial as a sophomore in 2019. In that three-year-old season, Kneedeep N Custard posted a 14-2-2 summary from 22 starts and banked more than $202,000.
Competing in the Open classes at tracks across western Canada as a four-year-old in 2020, Kneedeep N Custard never missed the board as a four-year-old courtesy a solid 6-3-4 summary from 13 seasonal starts. In four starts as a five-year-old, Kneedeep N Custard won two of four starts, his most recent a 1:50.4 score at Fraser Downs that just missed the overall track record by two-fifths of a second.
Now owned by trainer Jeff Cullipher and Pollack Racing LLC, Kneedeep N Custard made his stateside debut on Saturday in qualifying action at Harrah's Hoosier Park. Among those qualifying with Kneedeep N Custard was 2020 O'Brien Award winner Lauras Love, who made the first call for driver Peter Wrenn in :28.2. Sam Widger had Kneedeep N Custard out from third down the backside and cleared to the top before the :56.2 half. Kneedeep N Custard maintained control through the 1:24.1 third quarter before facing the challenge of Lauras Love heading for home. A :27.1 final quarter sealed the deal for Kneedeep N Custard, holding off the strong-closing Lauras Love by a half-length in 1:51.2.