Haru Urara, the beloved racehorse who inspired the character of Umamusume, has died.
The sad news was first reported by Yahoo! Japan, who revealed that the mare died at Martha Farm, the stable located in Onjuku, Chiba, where she had lived since 2013, surrounded by the staff who cared for her until the end. The cause of death was equine colic, a condition that occurs when gas accumulates in the intestines due to poor digestion.
Born on February 27, 1996, in Hokkaido, Haru Urara—whose name means "Glorious Spring" or "Gentle Spring"—was a daughter of Nippo Teio, a top-class horse and winner of the Tenno Sho and Yasuda Kinen. However, despite her distinguished lineage, she never managed to cross the finish line in first place during her entire professional career.
Her debut took place on November 17, 1998, at the Kochi Racecourse, where she finished fifth and last among five runners. For the next four and a half years, she competed once or twice a month without a single victory, accumulating a record that would make her immortal: 113 consecutive losses.
The Japanese dubbed her "the shining star of all losers" (makegumi no hoshi), admiring her unbreakable spirit to continue racing with all her heart despite her seemingly endless losing streak. This phenomenon was dubbed "The Haru Urara Boom" and transcended Japanese borders, being reported in the United States, Canada, Germany, and other countries.
The peak of her fame came on March 22, 2004, when more than 13,000 spectators packed the Kochi racecourse. Three thousand people gathered before the gates even opened, forcing the facility to open 30 minutes earlier than scheduled. Fans bet a total of 121,751,200 yen on a Haru Urara victory, an impressive sum for a horse that hadn't won even once in over 100 attempts.
After officially retiring in August 2004 with a record of 0 wins and 113 losses, Haru Urara found a second life in 2021 when she became one of the characters in the popular anime and video game "Umamusume: Pretty Derby." Her anthropomorphized "horse girl" version introduced her story to a new generation of fans.
The game's global release in June 2025 sparked a renewed wave of affection for the royal mare. International fans began donating funds en masse through "Fresh Hay Bank," a crowdfunding website that allowed fresh grass to be sent to retired horses. Donations were so plentiful that the website crashed when more than 2,500 kilograms of rye grass were sent to Haru Urara.
Haru Urara's caretaker during her final years fondly remembered the mare's stubborn personality until the very end. "Even in her final moments, she maintained her stubborn character," Miyahara recounted through tears. "When we tried to get her to walk to relieve the colic, Haru Urara would simply stop as if to say, 'No, I don't want to walk.' But it is precisely because of that unique character that we have so many beautiful memories with her. I am filled with gratitude toward Haru Urara."
To avoid any suspicion of profiting from the mare's fame, Miyahara had strictly limited the membership of the "Haru Urara Association" to just 50 people. "We were very clear that we never wanted people to think we were getting rich off Haru Urara. The current membership fees are more than enough to take proper care of her," she explained.
Haru Urara's story transcends sports to become a lesson in the beauty of perseverance, dignity in defeat, and the power of touching hearts without needing to win. In a world obsessed with success, she proved that sometimes the most valuable thing is simply never giving up.
