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SARGA.CO - Born into the same Japanese racing fillies’ generation as Vodka and Daiwa Scarlet, Aston Machan was once considered their equal. She entered her Classic season with great fanfare, beat the Sprinters Stakes clock, and appeared destined to become a major star. Instead, her career ended almost as quickly as it began. 

Her story could easily have faded into a footnote beneath the achievements of Vodka and Daiwa Scarlet, but today, Uma Musume: Pretty Derby gives Aston Machan another chance to be seen, with a character built around a simple plea to not forget her.

Aston Machan was foaled at Shadai Farm on 5 March 2004, with an inconspicuous yet respectable pedigree. Her sire was Admire Cozzene, a son of 1985 Breeders' Cup Mile champion Cozzene. Her dam, Rustling Copse, was by influential US stallion Woodman.

As a first-crop daughter of Admire Cozzene, however, there was some uncertainty surrounding her eventual characteristics. Fortunately, veterinarian Mayumi Tosa saw something worth betting on and bought her. The horse’s unusual name is a combination of the British car manufacturer Aston Martin and Tosa’s college nickname, "Machan". 

By the time Aston Machan arrived at the 2006 Hanshin Juvenile Fillies, she was the overwhelming favourite. But waiting for her was Vodka, who defeated her by a neck. With the 2007 Classic season approaching, both of them and Daiwa Scarlet stood above the rest, becoming known as the "Big Three" of their generation of fillies.

At the Oka Sho, Vodka and eventual winner Daiwa Scarlet jockeyed for pole position, beginning their famous rivalry, while Aston Machan finished seventh and diverged from them afterwards, her campaign turning more to shorter distances.

When three-year-old Aston Machan lined up for the 2007 Sprinters Stakes, the race was dominated by older or more established sprinters, and she had already endured more disappointing results after the Oka Sho.

Despite the low expectations, Aston Machan won the Sprinters Stakes, becoming only the second three-year-old filly to win the race after it became a domestic G1, following Nishino Flower 15 years earlier. For one afternoon, the cameras were finally on her. he said, quoted by Number Web. 

After Aston Machan's death, her story became more overshadowed by the exploits of her two more famous peers she never beat, Vodka and Daiwa Scarlet. As such, her owner Mayumi Tosa not only purchased her younger sister Jaja Machan to pair with various stallions, but also reportedly approached Cygames herself.

Normally, it is Cygames that approaches racehorse owners when seeking permission to portray them in Uma Musume. With Aston Machan, however, the direction was reversed, as Tosa wanted to ensure she would be immortalised in the public memory. 

In Uma Musume: Pretty Derby, as the newest global addition this month, Aston Machan is one of the most eccentric and surprisingly poignant characters in the cast. She carries a plushie of herself, records voice memos, and photobombs others’ pictures.

At first, they seem like mere quirky traits, but they come from a fear of being fully forgotten - much like how the real horse almost was – which she aims to prevent by becoming a worldwide mascot. 

Even the seasonal timing of the real Aston Machan’s death appears throughout the Uma Musume character’s story, as she frequently feels sick during the spring it occurred, and almost walks into the sea upon people forgetting her after the Takamatsunomiya Kinen.

Also, Aston Machan's real-life connection with Vodka and Daiwa Scarlet is preserved in Uma Musume, where they are classmates, rivals and friends who respect each other’s differing paths as racers.

Aston Machan shared a generation with two mares who would go on to become icons of Japanese horse racing, yet she never had the chance to build the same legendary career that many believed she was as capable of. 

The racehorse may have been a footnote in the story of Japan's legendary 2007 Classic fillies, but thanks to Uma Musume, she now lives on in many more fans’ memories.