by Michael Burns
Argentina's reigning Horse of the Year Hi Happy (Arg) (Pure Prize) is scheduled to make his United States debut in the GII Seabiscuit H. at Del Mar Nov. 26, according to Argentine-based trainer Pedro Nickel, who trained the La Providencia LLC homebred to an unbeaten championship season last year.
Tabbed as Argentina's 2015 Horse of the Year, champion 3-year-old male, and champion stayer, Hi Happy won six of six starts and earned $475,716, including four wins at the highest level–beginning with the G1 Gran Premio Dos Mil Guineas via disqualification. He then scored victories in the G1 Gran Premio Jockey Club and Gran Premio Nacional (Argentine Derby), the second and third legs of the Argentine Triple Crown. He culminated his outstanding year defeating older horses in South America's prestigious G1 Gran Premio Carlos Pellegrini.
The Carlos Pellegrini winner has been working well at San Luis Rey Downs training center with trainer Felipe Souza, Nickel's nephew; since arriving from Buenos Aires during the Summer.
“For us this is something different and a horse like this one is different as well,” said Nickel after Hi Happy's one-mile breeze on Saturday at San Luis Rey Downs with jockey Rito Almanza. “We are all anxious to see what happens in the race. The horse has been here for four months and today I see him as the same horse I saw back in Argentina. So I should have the same hope I had in Argentina. The horse overcame a few issues in his campaign and all the things or little problems that came up he got over them; so he is a distinct horse. We don't know his untapped potential yet. Of course that to debut in the U.S., the distance which isn't his best, but for now is best to run 1 1/16 miles than 1 1/2 miles after not having raced for nearly one year. He will be running against horses that are specialists at the middle-distance, but the horse is ready. He is doing really well, and I think he is going to make a good U.S. debut–that's what I hope.”
La Providencia first-call rider Altair Domingos is expected to arrive from Buenos Aires on Monday for Hi Happy's final pre-race blowout on Tuesday (weather permitting) at San Luis Rey.
Domingos, who piloted Hi Happy for all six of his victories in Argentina, is scheduled to make his United States riding debut on Thursday aboard La Providencia LLC's dual winner Ginga (Arg) (Pure Prize) in the GIII Red Carpet H. at Del Mar.
“Is important that from the very first moment we thought about sending horses to the United States, the principal objective for the owner was for not anything to change, the form of training, because here we all know that it is different,” Nickel added. “For it to be an experience, we didn't want to change anything, that's why the horse stayed with my nephew Felipe so nothing would change, and nothing has changed until now. For that matter, I think the adaptation of the horse went well and did not take too long.”
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