Gordon Waterstone

Lexington, KY — With three wins in as many starts to open up his career, the Ohio-sired 2-year-old colt pacer Mr Nuttin Nice has been nothing but nice to his connections.

After a pair of victories last month at Ohio fairs, Mr Nuttin Nice scored a 1:55.1 career-best effort in a $40,000 Ohio Sires Stakes leg on July 10 at MGM Northfield Park. The son of Racing Hill-Baia Hanover will attempt to make it four straight this Saturday night (July 24) in the third of three $40,000 OSS splits (race eight) at Eldorado Scioto Downs.

He will have his work cut out for him as he drew the outside post nine in a field that includes $150,000 Next Generation victor Sling Shock, who starts from post eight with driver Dan Noble.

Mr Nuttin Nice was just a $3,000 purchase under the name Allinaday at last November’s Standardbred Horse Sale that was moved from its normal venue in Harrisburg to Timonium, Md., because of COVID-19 protocols in Pennsylvania.

Mr Nuttin Nice scored a 1:55.1 career-best effort in a $40,000 Ohio Sires Stakes leg on July 10 at MGM Northfield Park. JJ Zamaiko photo.

Although the colt has strong breeding on his maternal side — he is out of the Western Ideal mare Baia Hanover, a full sister to the world champion and Breeders Crown, Governor’s Cup and New Jersey Classic champion Big Jim, the 2010 2-year-old Colt Pacer of the Year — his small size likely prompted the bargain-basement price.

The colt was bought from breeder Chester Miller by Iowan Daniel Gingerich, who then brought his new purchase to the fairgrounds in Springfield, Ill. Offering up that new purchase for sale, the yearling caught the eye of Mississippi native Roshun Trigg, who had an owner — Charles Hurst Jr. of Houston, Texas — looking to buy a young pacer.

“Mr. Hurst owns three or four racehorses but he also owns a lot of Tennessee Walking Horses,” said Trigg. “He asked about buying some horses to race, and I told him it could be pretty expensive to own horses. He told me owning walking horses can be pretty expensive so he was OK with it.

“Mr. Hurst was looking for a colt (last fall) and I told him to buy this colt instead of buying one out of a sale. He said, ‘If you like the colt, I’ll buy him.’ He’s not a big colt. A couple other guys in Springfield looked him over before me and didn’t like him. I said, with the smaller turns in Ohio it might work out. He might not need to be a big horse.”

After some negotiating, Trigg made the deal.

“I looked him over, and they asked $5,000 for him,” said Trigg, who trains a stable of 12 at the Springfield fairgrounds in tandem with Ronnie Gillespie. “I looked up the sale price and saw they paid $3,000 for him, so I offered $4,500 and they took it.

“We wanted to test the water in Ohio, so that’s why we bought this colt,” added Trigg, who is based much of the year in Illinois so he can race his stable primarily on the Illinois fair circuit and at Hawthorne.

Trigg said he immediately knew he purchased a colt with potential.

“He trained down like an old horse,” said Trigg, who will turn 44 on Aug. 21. “I knew he was a good colt since he had the ability of an aged horse. He just does what he likes to do.”

Trigg said it was Allinaday’s personality that ultimately led to the name change.

“The name was Allinaday when we bought him and Mr. Hurst liked the name, but I said, ‘No, this colt is nuttin nice,'” Trigg said with a laugh. “He ain’t nuttin nice. So we changed the name.”

With his new moniker, Mr Nuttin Nice romped to a 7-3/4 length win in 1:59.1 in a June 3 qualifying race at Hawthorne, drawing clear in the stretch with a final quarter of :26.4.

With Gillespie in the sulky, Mr Nuttin Nice coasted to a 5-1/4 length win in 2:00.2 in his debut at the Paulding fair on June 15, which was followed up two weeks later with a 1-1/2 length score in 2:01.4 at the Marion fairgrounds. Up next was his OSS victory — lighting up the toteboard at odds of 23-1 — at Northfield.

With the outside post on Saturday at Scioto, Trigg is realistic about the colt’s chances of making it four straight trips to the winner’s circle and adding substantially to his $23,218 bankroll.

“I told Mr. Hurst that we drew bad, so let’s try and race him and go for the win if we can get it,” he said. “Have a good colt for the next race and hope we draw better.”

Interestingly, Hurst, who purchased his first Standardbred about five years ago, has never seen any of his harness horses in action.

“He has never seen his horses race live,” said Trigg. “He had bought some riding horses from me over the phone and when I sold him the horses, he said, ‘Man these horses are way better than what you said they were.’ We became friends. He liked my experience and that I was a straight shooter.”

Click here for complete entries for the Saturday card at Eldorado Scioto Downs.