by Michael Burns

Brazilian star Happy Boy, the impressive winner of the Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum Challenge Round 1 (UAE-G3), has been sold to Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed al Maktoum and will be trained by Saeed bin Suroor.

Happy Boy’s new owner, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed al Maktoum, is a nephew of Shadwell Stable owner Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid al Maktoum, who recently was honored with the Eclipse Award for outstanding owner in the United States.

“I understood that he will be pointed to the Round 3 of the Maktoum Challenge, a Group 2, to be held March 6 over 2,000 meters [9.94 furlongs] on the dirt track of Nad al Sheba,” said Eduardo Guimaraes, racing manager for Happy Boy’s former owner Roberto Reichert.

Having won the first leg of the Maktoum Challenge, Happy Boy remains a top candidate for a bonus offered by the Dubai Racing Club to the horse who scores the most points in the trio of Challenge races.
 
Happy Boy will use Round 3 of the Maktoum Challenge as a prep for the $6-million Dubai World Cup (UAE-G1) on March 29.

Happy Boy scored an easy victory in the 1,600-meter (7.95-furlong) feature on opening night of the 2008 Dubai International Racing Carnival as he posted a stunning nine-length victory under Brazilian jockey Jose Aparecido Da Silva.

Happy Boy, the best dirt horse in Brazil last year, captured five of nine starts in his native country, highlighted by victories in the Grande Premio Piratininga (Brz-G3) and Grande Premio Associacao de Criadores e Proprietarios de Cavalos de Corrida de Sao Paulo (Brz-G3) at Cidade Jardim racecourse, prior to his sensational United Arab Emirates debut on January 17.

Bred by Roberto Reichert’s Haras Torrao de Ouro, the four-year-old Ski Champ horse previously was trained in Dubai by Brazilian conditioner Pedro Nickel.

Michael Burns is a South American-based Thoroughbred Times correspondent