Big Jim In To Qualify

Canadian racing fans, James Carr, 'Friday' Dean and Phil Hudon have all been licking their chops waiting for Big Jim to make his 2011 charted debut. And with the son of Western Ideal scheduled to take to the track tomorrow, all are looking forward to a 'Good Friday.'

Big Jim, the multiple stakes winner that earned an O'Brien Award for his standout freshman campaign, has been entered to qualify Friday, April 22 at Florida's Southern Oaks Training Centre.

The career winner of six races and $834,080 in purses will contest Southern Oaks' fourth qualifier and is slated to fire out from Post 3 in the four-horse affair.

Pilot Phil Hudon will make the trip and handle the driving duties behind the World Record holder.

"We never really quit with him," trainer Friday Dean recently told Trot Insider. "He had the first week off when we got here (the Southern Oaks Training Center), but we jogged him every other day after that until first of the year and then we started back with him full time."

Off a solid season that saw him lower a World Record and win multiple stakes, including the Governors Cup and Breeders Crown, the $35,000 yearling purchase was named O'Brien Award winner and was given the distinction of being the 3-1 favourite in Trot Magazine's 2011 Pepsi North America Cup Spring Book.