IRL:Merry Nice
| Main | Gallery | IRL |
| Merry Nice | ||
|---|---|---|
| メリーナイス | ||
| Silks |  |
|
| Romaji | Merii Naisu | |
| Foaled | March 22, 1984 | |
| Died | March 01, 2009 | |
| Sire | Kolymsky | |
| Dam | Tsuki Merry | |
| Sex | Stallion | |
| Color | Chestnut | |
| Trainer | Teruo Hashimoto | |
| Race Record | 14: 5-3-0 | |
| Earnings | 203,554,900 JPY | |
| Major wins | ||
| Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes (1986) Japanese Derby (1987) |
||
Merry Nice was a Japanese racehorse active from 1986 to 1988. He was known as the "best supporting horse in the world" and won a JRA award.
Name Origin
Derived from his mother, Tsuki Merry, and "it sounded like Very Nice" according to the owner.
Racing career
3-year-old (1986)
On August 3, he competed with Hokuto Helios in his debut race at Hakodate, and won.
On September 20, he competed with Gold City in the Cosmos Prize (OP) also at Hakodate. He finished 4th.
On October 4, he finished 2nd in the Rindou Prize at Tokyo.
On October 25, he won Icho Special (OP) at Tokyo.
On December 14, he competed with Hokuto Helios again in the 38th Asahi Hai Three-Year-Old Stakes (GI), and won.
At the end of the year, he and Gold City jointly won the JRA Award for Best Three-Year-Old Colt.
4-year-old (1987)
Early in the year, he suffered an infected injury on his right hind leg and a deep tubular spur on his left front leg, and was unable to train properly.
On March 29, he competed with Gold City in the 36th Fuji TV Spring Stakes (GII) at Nakayama. He finished 9th.
On April 19, he competed with Gold City, Hokuto Helios and Kailas Amon in the 47th Satsuki Sho (GI) at Nakayama. He finished 7th.
Both of these losses were blamed on his 'lack of preparation' and imperfect condition due to the earlier injury.
In mid-May, he suffered another mild injury, a 'bruised right front leg claw' (?), which caused a fever and prevented him from exercising. However he quickly recovered, and during training, Hashimoto was able to record the fastest time in his 34 years as a trainer.
On May 31, he competed with Gold City, Sunny Swallow and Hokuto Helios in the 54th Nippon Derby (GI), and won.
After the win, he had a 'summer vacation' at Hakodate racecourse.
On September 27, he competed with Sunny Swallow in the 41st Saint-Lite Memorial (GII) at Nakayama, and won.
Trainer Hashimoto believed that "he would run better if he had more time between races" so there was another break in October.
On November 18, he competed with Gold City, Sunny Swallow and Kailas Amon in the 48th Kikuka Sho (GI) at Kyoto. He finished 9th.
On December 27, he almost competed with Legend Teio and Dyna Actress in the 32nd Arima Kinen (GI). However, things quickly went wrong: on the second stride after leaving the gate, he stumbled and fell. Jockey Nemoto was thrown off and suffered a concussion. His rival Sakura Star O also suffered an injury and couldn't finish the race either.
Merry Nice was not injured, but this was a bit of a disaster for fans. "The first and third favorites both collapsed, and of the 25.1 billion yen in sales, about 16.2 billion yen in winning tickets for two horses were lost before the race was decided." (Translated from Japanese Wikipedia).
At the end of the year, he received some votes for the JRA Awards for Best Four-Year-Old Colt, but didn't win (Sakura Star O was vastly more popular).
5-year-old (1988)
On February 21, he entered the 102nd Meguro Kinen (GII) at Tokyo. He was the favourite, and as this was the jockey's return after the falling-off injury, "the paddock was filled with cheers of encouragement for Nemoto". Merry Nice finished 2nd.
On April 29, he competed with Tamamo Cross, Gold City, Running Free and Dyna Carpenter in the 97th Tenno Sho (Spring) (GI) at Kyoto. He finished 14th.
He took a break for 4 months.
On August 21, he competed with Sirius Symboli and Soccer Boy in the 24th Hakodate Kinen (GIII). He finished 2nd, behind Soccer Boy who set a new record time.
He continued training at Hakodate racecourse, but on September 15, suffered a leg joint fracture. It would take at least 6 months to recover, so in October it was decided to retire him from racing.
On December 18th, a retirement ceremony was held at Nakayama racecourse. "He was unveiled wearing the number 8 that he wore when he won the Asahi Hai Three-Year-Old Stakes." (Translated from Japanese Wikipedia)
Retirement
In 1989 he became breeding stallion at Rex Stud in Shizunai, Hokkaido. "He was so popular that he was even given a surplus stock in addition to the syndicate".
He sired 410 registered foals, 239 of which became race winners, and 5 won major races.
In September 1999, he stopped breeding and spent the rest of his life as a service horse at 2 other farms.
He died on March 1, 2009, at the age of 25 from complications after colic.
Honors
- JRA Award for Best Three-Year-Old Colt
Relationships
Relatives
Raced with
(Cinderella Grey derived characters)
- Soccer Boy (Dicta Striker)
- Legend Teio (Lord Royal)
- Running Free (Long Live Free)
- Dyna Actress (Dynamu Heroine)
- Hokuto Helios (Meteor Selenus)
- Sunny Swallow (Luna Swallow)
- Kailas Amon (Rinpoche Amen)
Race Records
| Date | Racecourse | Race | Grade | Distance | Gate | Odds | Fav. | Fin. | Time | Margin | Jockey | Winner (Runner-Up) | Other Umamusume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986/08/03 | Hakodate | Three-Year-Old Newcomer | Maiden | T 1000m | 1 | 1.7 | 1 | 1 | 0:58.7 | 0.0 | Y.Nemoto | (Saiko Heart) | |
| 1986/09/20 | Hakodate | Cosmos Sho | OP | T 1700m | 2 | 4.3 | 2 | 4 | 1:46.1 | 0.5 | Y.Nemoto | Gold City | Gold City |
| 1986/10/04 | Tokyo | Rindo Sho | Pre-OP | T 1600m | 2 | 5.8 | 2 | 2 | 1:35.5 | 0.0 | Y.Nemoto | Sakura Rotary | |
| 1986/10/25 | Tokyo | Icho Tokubetsu | OP | T 1600m | 7 | 1.3 | 1 | 1 | 1:36.1 | 0.0 | Y.Nemoto | (Saint Nadara) | |
| 1986/12/14 | Nakayama | Asahi Hai Sansai Stakes | G1 | T 1600m | 8 | 3.6 | 2 | 1 | 1:35.6 | -0.2 | Y.Nemoto | (Hokuto Helios) | |
| 1987/03/29 | Nakayama | Spring Stakes | G2 | T 1800m | 4 | 4.9 | 2 | 9 | 1:50.3 | 1.0 | Y.Nemoto | Material | Gold City |
| 1987/04/19 | Nakayama | Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas) | G1 | T 2000m | 16 | 25.6 | 8 | 7 | 2:02.5 | 0.6 | Y.Nemoto | Sakura Star O | Gold City |
| 1987/05/31 | Tokyo | Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) | G1 | T 2400m | 8 | 12.6 | 4 | 1 | 2:27.8 | -1.0 | Y.Nemoto | (Sunny Swallow) | Gold City |
| 1987/09/27 | Nakayama | St. Lite Kinen | G2 | T 2200m | 7 | 1.9 | 1 | 1 | 2:13.9 | -0.1 | Y.Nemoto | (Saint Nadara) | |
| 1987/11/08 | Kyoto | Kikuka Sho (Japanese St.Leger) | G1 | T 3000m | 18 | 2.2 | 1 | 9 | 3:09.3 | 1.3 | Y.Nemoto | Sakura Star O | Gold City |
| 1987/12/27 | Nakayama | Arima Kinen | G1 | T 2500m | 14 | 4.9 | 3 | DNF | Y.Nemoto | Mejiro Durren | |||
| 1988/02/21 | Tokyo | Meguro Kinen | G2 | T 2500m | 1 | 2.9 | 1 | 2 | 2:32.9 | 0.2 | Y.Nemoto | Mejiro Fulmar | |
| 1988/04/29 | Kyoto | Tenno Sho (Spring) | G1 | T 3200m | 13 | 7.3 | 4 | 14 | 3:25.8 | 4.0 | Y.Nemoto | Tamamo Cross | Tamamo Cross, Gold City |
| 1988/08/21 | Hakodate | Hakodate Kinen | G3 | T 2000m | 12 | 5.8 | 3 | 2 | 1:58.6 | 0.8 | Y.Nemoto | Soccer Boy | Sirius Symboli |
Pedigree
| Sire Kolymsky (USA) |
Northern Dancer (CAN) | Nearctic (CAN) | Nearco (ITY) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lady Angela (GB) | |||
| Natalma (USA) | Native Dancer (USA) | ||
| Almahmoud (USA) | |||
| Libro d Oro (USA) | Francis S.(USA) | Royal Charger (GB) | |
| Blue Eyed Momo (USA) | |||
| Exclusive (USA) | Shut Out (USA) | ||
| Good Example (USA) | |||
| Dam Tsuki Merry (JPN) |
Chateaugay (USA) | Swaps (USA) | Khaled (GB) |
| Iron Reward (USA) | |||
| Banquet Bell (USA) | Polynesian (USA) | ||
| Dinner Horn (USA) | |||
| Merry Blat (JPN) | Tesco Boy (GB) | Princely Gift (GB) | |
| Suncourt (GB) | |||
| Continental (JPN) | Ferriol (FR) | ||
| Uratsuki Homare (JPN), (Family: F4-m) |
Notes