Camerons Big Trip tops Sickle's Image

A pair of stakes races for Michigan-bred juveniles headline Friday night’s card at Hazel Park, and it will be a learning experience for everyone involved.

All 14 entries in the pair of $25,000 races going a half-mile will be making their debut starts, in what are the first two races for 2-year-olds of the Hazel Park meet. The races serve as preps for their respective divisions of the Michigan Sire Stakes card on Sept. 2.

Leading off the night’s dual feature is the Sickle’s Image Stakes for Michigan-bred fillies.

A field of seven debutantes is entered, including Camerons Big Trip. The filly is a daughter of Elusive Hour, who has sired a juvenile stakes winner in Michigan in three of the past five seasons - especially impressive given the state’s extremely limited stakes schedule.

Further exploring the pedigree, Camerons Big Trip is out of Elegant Trip, whose three foals to race are statebred stakes winners Synclines Trip and Here She Comes, and stakes-placed Elegant Trefaire.

Melissa Zajac will ride Camerons Big Trip for owner Jenny Barbeau and trainer Tommy Gross. The filly most recently breezed a bullet three furlongs at Hazel Park on Aug. 8, stopping the clock in 36 seconds flat.

Also entered is Beija Boo, an Equality filly who has been working toward her debut at Indiana Grand. The filly last breezed on Aug. 2 when she covered four furlongs in 50.80 seconds.

Five of Equality’s 14 stakes winners did so as juveniles, and Beija Boo is the first foal out of Quaker Ridge mare Beija Fleur.

Robert Gorham trains Beija Boo for owner Marion Gorham. Leading rider Ricardo Barrios will have the mount.

The Patrick Wood Stakes, for Michigan-bred colts and geldings, also drew a field of seven.

History would suggest Cutler has the likely edge in his debut start. The Even the Score colt is trained by James Jackson, who is Hazel Park’s leading trainer of first-time juvenile starters by wins since 2014, with three victories in five starts.

Cutler most recently turned in a three-furlong breeze on Aug. 4, going in a bullet 37.80 seconds. Zajac will be aboard for owner Elkhorn Oaks.

Standing in his way will be Quick Cowboy, another Robert Gorham-trained runner who prepped at Indiana Grand.

The gelding is from the first native crop of Unbridled Energy since the stallion relocated to Michigan for the 2014 breeding season. Quick Cowboy last worked on Aug. 2, going four furlongs in 49.20 seconds.

Barrios will ride Quick Cowboy for Marion Gorham.