The horse that never wins now has the reputation as a lucky charm: workers bet on her and keep the tickets to ward off a layoff. Last week the Kochi horse-racing union sold out 500 of her lucky horsetail charms within three hours. “We had no idea the loser horse would become such a star,” says union director Hidehiro Maeda.
Major dailies, TV networks and magazine reporters now flock to her stable. Already two books are expected to come out in December (one by an award-winning novelist), and the NHK public-broadcasting system has started work on a documentary. The horse is inundated with food, fan letters and even cash. “I have never won in any competition in my entire life,” one 71-year-old woman writes. Looks like the only unlucky thing Haruurara can do now is win.
