Nice Nature

Nice Nature (Japanese: ナイスネイチャ, Hepburn: Naisu Neicha; April 16, 1988 – May 30, 2023) was a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. From his debut in 1990 to his retirement in 1996, Nice Nature had a record of 41 starts and 7 wins, including 4 major wins. With a long GI racing career and often placing third, Nice Nature gained popularity as the "Bronze Collector". Nice Nature consecutively placed third in the 1991, 1992, and 1993 Arima Kinen. Before his death, Nice Nature was the oldest living stallion to have a JRA major win.

Nice Nature was born in 1988 at the Watanabe Ranch in Urakawa, Hokkaido. His sire, Nice Dancer, had six major wins in Canada, and his dam, Urakawa Miyuki, had three wins, including the 1984 open of what would become the Tulip Sho. Nice Nature's to-be owner Toyoshima Masao made a deposit at Watanabe Ranch. According to the owner of the ranch Watanabe Kazuma, Nice Nature was average as a foal, nor did he stand out in the training ranch. However, Watanabe vaguely alluded that he felt that Nice Nature might be just as good as Nice Nice Nice, also out of Nice Dancer and the winner of the 1989 Kisaragi Sho and 1990 Kyōto Kinen. Nice Nature's to-be trainer Matsunaga Yoshiharu quickly embraced the impression of a "good horse", saying that he felt that things were moving in a "good direction" as he looked at Nice Nature's growth.

After reaching the racing age of three years in 1990, Nice Nature transferred to the Rittō Training Center in Rittō, Shiga under Matsunaga. After Nice Nature's older sister suffered a career ending injury, Nice Nature was trained cautiously and debuted relatively late in December.

Nice Nature won 4 major races, the Kokura Kinen, the Kyoto Shimbun Hai, and Naruo Kinen, all in 1991, as well as the Takamatsunomiya Hai in 1994. Nice Nature also started in a total of 34 group races throughout his career, including 16 GI races, which was a record at the time.

Below data is based on data available on JBIS Search and netkeiba.com.

Legend:
  Turf   Dirt

Due to problems on his right foreleg, Nice Nature was retired from racing in late 1996 in spite of initial plans to have the horse run in that year's Arima Kinen. The horse was sent to Hidaka Stallion Station to stand at stud, but retired in 2001 after siring a total of 17 registered horses. Alongside standing at stud, Nice Nature also became the poster character announcing the introduction of Quinella Place betting in JRA races in 1999. Nice Nature spent the remainder of his life pensioned at the Watanabe Ranch, the same farm where he was bred. He died on May 30, 2023, at the age of 35.

An anthropomorphized version of Nice Nature appears as a character in the Japanese multimedia franchise Umamusume: Pretty Derby, voiced by Kaori Maeda. She is depicted as being cynical and pessimistic, and often undervalues her own achievements, causing her to intentionally place third during races. However, she learns to embrace the support of her fans and have more confidence in herself during her career mode with the help of the player trainer. In the third season of the anime, she also serves as a close friend and mentor figure to Kitasan Black.

Consequently, Umamusume players have raised tens of millions of yen each year in celebration of Nice Nature's birthday donation. The developers of the Umamusume game and Maeda were among those who sent their condolences upon Nice Nature's passing.

Inbreeding within 5 generations: None

Retrieved from Nice Nature's profile on JBIS (Japan Bloodstock Information Database)

Nice Nature's dam Urakawa Miyuki died on June 2, 2017, at the age of 36, making her the longest lived female thoroughbred in Japan to have been properly documented.