Pridecrest eyes another Budahn trophy at Cal Expo

The $12,500 Gary Budahn Trot headed by Pridecrest and the $12,500 DHA harness racing pace featuring Handsome Harvey share the spotlight Sunday evening (Mar. 17) at Cal Expo.

Watch and Wager LLC will present 12 races with first post set for 5:30 p.m.

Pridecrest, who has recorded four straight wins, is a 12-year-old son of Angus Hall who is owned by Chris Schick, takes his lessons from Kathie Plested and is guided by Mooney Svendsen.

He has with 61 victories from his 240 career trips to the post, $531,000 in his bank account and a 1:53 2/5 mark that was set over this track.

Pridecrest began his recent streak in the January 26 Joe Lighthill, scoring in first-over fashion that evening by a neck in a 14-1 upset.

He has put his class and versatility on display in the subsequent three scores, the most recent coming two weeks ago when he got the job done in tracking style from the outside post.

Set to take him on are Silverhill Volo for Chip Lackey; Louis, Jake Cutting; Body Armor for Gerry Longo; Peter’s Royalty, James Kennedy and Jack Rabbit Slims with Luke Plano.

Plano would appear to have a strong shot to capture the co-featured DHA Pace with Handsome Harvey, who carries the banner of his driver/trainer and Dave Haness.

Mooney Svendsen and Pridecrest figure to be tough in Sunday night’s Gary Budahn Trot, an event they have teamed to capture once before.

The Chris Shick-owned, Kathie Plested-trained 12-year-old is seeking his 62nd lifetime victory from 241 starts with $531,000 in earnings and a 1:53 2/5 mark that was set over this course five years ago.

“My favorite trotter used to be Claudius Augustus, but now it’s this guy,” Svendsen noted.

Of course, Claudius Augustus was a top-class performer here racing for Gary and Debbi Budahn, bringing things full circle for Mooney.

“I grew up in Minnesota with Gary and our dads both raced,” Svendsen related. “Winning a race named for him is always special.”

As for Pridecrest, he comes into this assignment riding a four-race winning streak while getting the job done from every position.

“He loves this track and he’s just so versatile,” his pilot praised. “I wait until just before the gates open to decide what to do with him about 90 percent of the time, and he always give me a lot of confidence.”

by Mark Ratzky, for Cal Expo Harness