On his first appearance as a three-year-old Nikoli contested the Group Three McCairns Trial Stakes over seven furlongs on soft ground at Phoenix Park. Most of the interest in the race focused on the Vincent O'Brien-trained Monteverdi, the top-rated juvenile of 1979 in Britain and Ireland who was made the 1/3 favourite. Nikoli, however, upset the odds, winning by a length and a half from Monteverdi, who was carrying seven pounds more. The ground was much firmer when Nikoli was stepped up to Group One level for the Irish 2000 Guineas over one mile at the Curragh on 17 May and started the 5/1 third favourite behind Monteverdi and Posse. The other ten runners included Final Straw (who had beaten Monteverdi in the Greenham Stakes), Huguenot (Beresford Stakes), Last Fandango (Blue Riband Trial Stakes), Current Charge (Tetrarch Stakes) and Johnny O'Day (Larkspur Stakes). Final Straw, Nikoli, Last Fandango and Posse entered the final furlong almost level, but Nikoli, ridden by Christy Roche stayed on better than his rivals and won by a short head from Last Fandango.
