Details
| Name / Japanese | Merry Nice / メリーナイス |
| Birth Year | 1984 |
| Sex | male |
| Earnings | 203,554,900 yen |
| Races-Win / G1-Win | 14-5 / 6-2 |
| Sire | Kolymsky |
| Dam (Sire) | Tsuki Merry (Chateaugay) |
| Other site link | JBIS / Umanity / en.netkeiba |
| Awards | JRA Award for Best Two-Year-Old Colt (1986) |
All grade-races
| Y D/M |
Track | Race | No. | Pl. |  |
| 1986 14/12 |
Nakayama T1600 |
Asahi Hai Sansai Stakes (G1) | 8 | 1 | ◆ |
| 1987 29/03 |
Nakayama T1800 |
Fuji TV Spring Stakes (G2) | 4 | 9 | G |
| 1987 19/04 |
Nakayama T2000 |
Satsuki Sho (G1) | 16 | 7 | ◆ |
| 1987 31/05 |
Tokyo T2400 |
Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) (G1) | 8 | 1 | ◆ |
| 1987 27/09 |
Nakayama T2200 |
Radio Nippon Sho St.Lite Kinen (G2) | 7 | 1 | G |
| 1987 08/11 |
Kyoto T3000 |
Kikuka Sho (G1) | 18 | 9 | ◆ |
| 1987 27/12 |
Nakayama T2500 |
Arima Kinen (G1) | 14 | / | ◆ |
| 1988 21/02 |
Tokyo T2500 |
Meguro Kinen (G2) | 1 | 2 | G |
| 1988 29/04 |
Kyoto T3200 |
Tenno Sho (Spring) (G1) | 13 | 14 | ◆ |
| 1988 21/08 |
Hakodate T2000 |
Hakodate Kinen (G3) | 12 | 2 | G |
- In the Asahi Hai Sansai Stakes, he was 2nd favorite.
He beat the second place finisher, Hokuto Helios, by 1+1/2 lengths.
It was his first G1 win.
He became the two-year-old champion colt of the East.
He won the JRA Award for Best Two-Year-Old Colt (1986) along with Gold City, the champion of the West. - In the Fuji TV Spring Stakes, he finished 9th.
Material (No.8) showed a great finishing kick and won. - In the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby), he was 4th favorite.
He took the lead in the home stretch.
He crossed the finish line with an ever-increasing margin between him and the horses behind him.
He won by 6 lengths.
As of the end of 2020, this is still the largest margin of victory in the Derby since the start of the grading system in Japan. - In the Arima Kinen, he was 3rd favorite.
He stumbled right at the start of the race.
His jockey fell off and he was forced to stop racing.
Then Sakura Star O had a trouble on the last corner.
Episode
- At that time, a film was being made about horse racing called “優駿 ORACIÓN (Yushun ORACION)”.
JRA was also cooperating in the making of the film.
The 1987 Derby had the added bonus of becoming the model for the film’s hero horse, Oracion.
And the film’s climactic scene was going to feature footage from the actual Derby.
But the production crew was so convinced of Material’s victory that they didn’t get any footage of Merry Nice running in the Derby.
In the end, the actual Derby footage was not used, and the climax scene was filmed with a horse that looked a lot like Merry Nice.
The Generation of Tragedy
(This item may not be something to write about in a post about Merry Nice.)
- The horses born in 1984 are sometimes called “悲劇の世代 (The Generation of Tragedy).
Merry Nice didn’t encounter tragedy, he became the Derby horse of the Generation of Tragedy, and he lived to be 25 years old. - Here are some of the other horses that have encountered tragedy.
- Sakura Star O was injured in the Arima Kinen and was euthanized after suffering from pain for five months.
- Material had very high expectations even before he made his debut.
It was customary for colts born at the Symboli Farm to be named Symboli.
However, Tomohiro Wada, the famous owner of the farm, did not name Material “Symboli” because he believed that Material had the talent to win foreign races in the future.
Wada continued to train the material at his own farm after Material made his debut.
That method worked for Symboli Rudolf and Sirius Symboli, but not for the nervous Material.
After winning the Fuji TV Spring Stakes, Material slumped.
Wada lost his interest in Material, and Material began to be trained by his trainer.
Material got back on form and won for the first time in two and a half years.
However, after that race it was discovered that he had a broken bone.
Normally, he would have been euthanized, but Wada treated him.
The operation on him was successful, but he died of hemorrhagic colitis due to the stress from the post-operative pain. - Gold City became popular for his flashy looks.
After he retired as a racehorse, he tried to train as a steeplechase horse, but he didn’t do well.
He then got into a fight with some of the other horses.
Half a year after he retired, he was found with a broken leg when farm workers noticed it.
He was euthanized. - Tamamo Cross has been successful since he became an old horse.
He became a national star horse, due to his showdown with Oguri Cap.
The tragedy he encountered was the bankruptcy of his birth farm.
Before he and his younger sister, Miyama Poppy, could succeed, their homeland was gone.
Their dam was a sensitive horse, and she died because she couldn’t adjust to a life of moving from one farm to another.