From national icon to global Umamusume star, Haru Urara was the racehorse that never gave up
Haru Urara, a former racehorse who became a national icon in Japan for her incredible losing streak, has passed away at the age of 29.
The news was announced by the Matha Farm, where she had been living in retirement, with the cause of death being reported as colic.
Haru Urara was a racehorse who competed at the Kochi Racecourse, and during her professional career, she famously never won a single race.
Her final record stood at 113 losses and zero wins.
However, her tenacious and determined spirit, continuing to run with all her heart despite never winning, captured the public’s imagination, and in the early 2000s, she became a massive social phenomenon, celebrated as the “shining star of the defeated.”
Her popularity was credited with helping to save the struggling Kochi Racecourse from financial ruin.
In recent years, her story found a new, global audience after she was featured as a character in the hugely popular video game, Umamusume Pretty Derby.
The in-game version of Haru Urara is a cheerful and relentlessly positive character who, despite her losing streak, never gives up, a portrayal which has won the hearts of millions of players.
Following the game’s English release, her story of “a hero with no talent who never gives up” became a major topic of discussion on international forums, and led to a surge in overseas fans donating to her real-life care and even visiting her at the farm.
In a statement, the head of her fan club, Miyako Miyahara, said, “She was stubborn and selfish right until the very end, and we said goodbye in a way that was completely true to her.”
She also thanked the fans, stating, “I’m sure that U-chan’s life was a happy one! Thank you for supporting her for so long.”
The official Umamusume project also released a statement, expressing its condolences and its deepest gratitude to the “great and famous horse.”
The news of her passing has been met with an outpouring of tributes on social media, with messages of condolence and gratitude being posted in a multitude of languages from fans around the world, a testament to how the small horse from Kochi who never won a race had, over time, become a global inspiration.
Haru Urara passed away on Tuesday, the 9th of September, 2025.
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