Japan is grieving over the Haru Urara dead at 29, that occurred on September 9, 2025, and was 29 years old. She passed away at Matha Farm, Onjuku, Chiba Prefecture where she was surrounded by caretakers. This was caused by colic, a severe abdominal disease in horses, which most probably resulted in the accumulation of gases and stomach upsets.
Why She Was Iconic
- The winning record of Haru Urara in her 113 efforts was zero, between 1998 and her retirement in 2004. Nevertheless, she won the hearts of the Japanese people and got a heartwarming name of the shining star of losers everywhere.
- Her narrative was even more spread with the launch of the mobile game and anime Umamusume: Pretty Derby, in which she takes part as a pink-haired figure hailed as an icon of indomitable spirit.
- In July 2025, an unexpected international donation with a fresh grass bank flooded the system, donations of so much Ryegrass to Haru Urara that the site where the donation is given collapsed.
The Final Moments
- On September 8 Haru Urara ceased to defecate–a symptom of alarm. Caretaker Yuko Miyahara summoned a vet and kept her with her till night time. On the morning of the 9th her health was so much the worse, that she died.
Impact and Legacy
- Her death caused tributes to pour in on social media. Umamusume: Pretty Derby was met with great sentiment by its fans, with such messages as:
Why not surrender? because she never did.
We have now lost Grass Wonder, he has gone down, one after the other, and I am really struck by these two deaths.
- Haru Urara was not a racehorse anymore, she was a symbol of perseverance, hope and beauty of not giving up, universal.
Umamusume: Pretty Derby in Haru Urara.
- Haru Urara is depicted in the game Umamusume: Pretty Derby as a pink-haired horse girl who is perpetually positive even as she loses on the race track.
- Her character in the game is quite similar to her real life story: she does not win; she does not give up and remains smiling.
- Most fans: Fans adopted her as an emblem of strength and the ones who admired her frequently claimed that she empowered them to persevere in their problems.
- Players in the game are allowed to train her so that she eventually wins races, which never occurred in real life thus making her victories in the game even more emotional to the fans.
- One of her most popular quotes is that of perseverance: I will continue running till I win one day!
- Due to this fact, she was made one of the most popular characters of the franchise, right next to real racing champions like Tokai Teio and Special Week.
Her First Win The Victory in the Time-Trial of 2019.
- The bigge one was, however, in 2019 Haru Urara finally scored after almost 113 starts and 000 records, having retired in 2004 without any official victory.
- She used to be entered in a private time trial at Matha Farm in Chiba, where she ran against the clock.
- She won the time trial, to everyone’s surprise, the first and only win in her record.
- It was not an official race but to fans, it represented that perseverance is finally rewarded, success is achieved.
- News media and fans all over the world rejoiced describing it as justice to Haru Urara.
The Tributes in the World After Her Death.
Haru Urara died in September 2025 and tributes were received throughout Japan and the world:
- Japanese media featured her as the Shining Star of Losers Everywhere, and people remembered that she helped to give courage to people who had difficult situations in life.
- Umamusume fans overwhelmed social media with pieces of art, fan videos, and emotional content. One common phrase was:
“She never gave up. Neither should we.”
- Foreign fans (particularly the U.S. and Europe) tweeted using such hash tags as: #ThankYouHaruUrara and #NeverGiveUpHorse.
- A touching tribute was given by the UmaMusume players who arranged in-game races in the character of Haru Urara as a digital final bow and dressed everyone in her pink outfit.
- Earlier in July 2025, with the news of her age and failing health, communities of Umamusses abroad sent such a significant amount of donated ryegrass to her farm that the grass bank web site collapsed. Following her death, several of those same fans would have said that they are happy she spent her last summer with endlessly fresh grass.
In the end-
Eventually Haru Urara was not merely a racehorse but a cultural phenomenon, a living metaphor of hope and never giving up, and even after her death she has united people of different countries and generations.
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