Horse that never wins has become the toast of Japan

A YEAR ago, she was heading for the slaughterhouse - a skittish racehorse that despite the best efforts of her trainer could not win a single race.

But thanks to a bit of clever rebranding, Haru-urara has become a Japanese sporting phenomenon: the racehorse who cannot win but never gives up.

Still losing every race she enters - 105 outings since her debut - the chestnut mare’s every step is followed intensely by the Japanese press. A film deal to make a Japanese version of the Hollywood blockbuster Seabiscuit is in the works, and instead of being put down, Haru-urara will now enjoy a comfortable retirement.

In a vain attempt to try and help her win at least one race, Japan’s top jockey has even volunteered to ride her later this month.

It could have been so different. Haru-urara raced at Kochi Race Course, which was on the verge of bankruptcy last year despite a cash bailout from the local prefecture.

But after a local paper wrote that her 100th loss was in sight, the national media seized on the saga with a vengeance, depicting the horse as a symbol of the Japanese people’s pertinacity.

The eight-year-old horse has been compared to Japan’s growing class of "losers", including the dedicated corporate warriors being sacrificed by employers in the pursuit of profits.

"I don’t really know why she’s so popular," the horse’s trainer, Dai Muneishi, 53, a wiry former jockey, said in an interview at the Kochi stable south-west of Tokyo, where Haru-urara boards.

"But I guess the biggest reason is that the sight of her running with all her heart despite having lost more than 100 times gives comfort to people’s hearts."

Mr Muneishi says he has given more than 100 interviews about Haru-urara, patiently explaining such things as how he picked her name, which means "Gentle Spring", and that he knew from the start that she was never destined to win.

"I feel as if this is my mission," he said, dismissing any suggestion that he might have tired of all the attention.

In the latest twist to the tale, Haru-urara will get a chance to follow in the hoof-prints of Seabiscuit, the small American horse who confounded experts by winning races during the Depression era - a story made into a film last year, starring Tobey Maguire.

Japan’s most respected jockey, Yutaka Take, will ride Haru-urara on 22 March before what is expected to be a record crowd.

The media fuss has been a godsend for Kochi racecourse. Daily attendance before the Haru-urara boom averaged around 1,600. But in December, 5,000 fans gathered to see the horse, wearing her familiar pink hood, lose her 100th race, and in January a crowd of 8,000 watched her 101st defeat.

Not all racing fans agree that Haru-urara deserves her fame.

"It’s strange that she’s so popular. There are lots of other losing horses," said Eiichi Tanimoto, 37, as he left the course one weekday. "I don’t bet on her because she’s not going to win."

Others, however, bet on Haru-urara despite knowing she will lose, then keep the betting slips as good-luck charms. They can also buy a CD and Haru-urara goods such as T-shirts and mobile phone straps.

Kirin Brewery has made a commercial featuring the horse, and the department store chain Matsuzakaya plans to sell Haru-urara goods in Tokyo’s ritzy Ginza district.

Even Junichiro Koizumi, the Japanese prime minister, got into the act this week.

"It’s a nice story that gives people hope that they shouldn’t give up, even if they lose," he said in parliament.

Haru-urara has been honoured with an award in the form of carrots from Kochi’s governor for boosting tourism, although how much business the horse has really generated is hard to say.

And the long-term fate of the Kochi racecourse is in some doubt. "There’s a big chance the course will go back into the red once Haru-urara retires," Noriaki Morimoto, an official at the Kochi City Tourism Association, said. "That’s our worry."

For Mr Muneishi, however, Haru-urara’s popularity has already achieved the most important goal - saving her life.

"Racehorses are destroyed when they don’t win. But to my way of thinking, a horse is also a living being, and it’s inexcusable to destroy it at the mere whim of humans," he said.

Haru-urara’s owner plans to retire her to a farm on the northern island of Hokkaido, but precisely when is unclear, Mr Muneishi said.

"I wanted to retire her after 100 races, but now she belongs to the fans and it’s hard to have her stop running."