Umamusume: Pretty Derby players are falling in love with Silence Suzuka, a soft-spoken, lightning-fast horse girl based on one of Japan’s most beloved thoroughbreds. However, behind her kind personality is a tragic backstory that will have you cheering through tears because in real life, her story ended in heartbreak.
While Hara Urara is most notable for never winning a race, and Gold Ship famously cost an estimated 12 billion yen in losses from bettors, it’s Silence Suzuka’s backstory that takes the crown for the biggest tragedy.
Just like his mobile game counterpart, the real Silence Suzuka quickly caught the eye of fans and critics alike. He famously earned six back-to-back victories in 1998, with his speed being unparalleled, often leaving the competition in the dust.
However, this would all change when, on November 1, 1998, he entered the prestigious Tenno Sho race. Silence Suzuka was expected to be the winning contender with 6:5 odds in his favor, which makes what happens next even more upsetting.
Silence Suzuka is Japan’s most tragic horse
Despite taking an early lead, he suffered a catastrophic leg fracture midway through the race and was unable to get up. Unable to be saved, Silence Suzuka was euthanized on the track in front of the crowd that had been cheering for his victory.
His sudden death became one of the most heartbreaking moments in Japanese horse racing, and Silence Suzuka is now memorialized in Umamasume: Pretty Derby as a symbol of speed, fragility, and unfulfilled potential.
In the game and anime adaptation, Silence Suzuka takes center stage as a graceful, determined character with unmatched pace and a calm, almost ethereal demeanor. But unlike her real-world counterpart, the anime girl version of Suzuka is given a second chance.
Players can now train Silence Suzuka and win the Tenno Sho, something her IRL counterpart never got to achieve in reality. The anime even has an arc where Suzuka undergoes a long rehabilitation arc with the support of her friends, and she eventually returns to the track.
This emotional blend of real-life legacy and alternate history has quickly made Suzuka one of the game’s most beloved characters, and a major reason why Umamusume: Pretty Derby is striking a chord with fans around the world.
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