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Today, at age 20, Wonder Acute is enjoying retirement at Yogibo Versailles Resort Farm. He has even developed an unexpected second career as a painter, giving fans another reason to celebrate one of Japanese horse racing's most durable competitors.

With a playable debut in the global version of Uma Musume: Pretty Derby on 23 September, Wonder Acute's story is reaching a new audience.

The son of 1999 American Horse of the Year, Charismatic, Wonder Acute began racing in January 2009, and his early years included wins in the Sirius Stakes and Musashino Stakes in 2009, followed by the Tokai Stakes in 2011.

Nonetheless, his career was also defined by how often he came close against the best. In the 2011 Japan Cup Dirt and Tokyo Daishoten, Wonder Acute finished second behind Transcendand Smart Falcon, respectively, before finishing third in the 2012 February Stakes and second again in several major dirt races. These repeated runner-up finishes earned him the affectionate label of a “silver collector.”

His breakthrough finally arrived in November 2012 when he won the JBC Classic - his first Jpn1 title. But that was only the beginning as Wonder Acute continued racing for anotherthree seasons.

Winning the Nihon TV Hai in 2013 and the Teio Sho in 2014, Wonder Acute was still a top contender despite his advancing age. Jockey Yutaka Take praised his dedication, saying, “No matter the racetrack, the circumstances, or the track conditions, he always runs his heart out,”as quoted by web Furlong 2014.

His most inspiring achievement came in 2015 when he won the Kashiwa Kinen, making him the first nine-year-old horse in Japan to win a G1/Jpn1-level race. It marked Wonder Acute’sthird Jpn1 success, following the JBC Classic and Teio Sho.

As quoted by uma-furusato.com, his breeder Shinichi Fukuda admitted his main hope was simply that he would finish safely, so his win surprised him, though he expressed gratitude to trainer Masao Sato, jockey Ryuji Wada and Wonder Acute himself.

Wada, meanwhile, was impressed that the veteran's ability had apparently not faded with age.“To be honest, I'm surprised he's still running as well as he did in his prime. I didn't sense any signs of his age,” he said, as quoted by KEIBA.GO.JP.

Wonder Acute would make five more starts after the Kashiwa Kinen, including another silver medal in the Mile Championship Nambu Hai. He ended his racing career with a third-place finish in the 2015 Tokyo Daishoten, officially retiring afterwards.

Subsequently, Wonder Acute entered stud until October 2024, then moved to live at YogiboVersailles Resort Farm with other former racehorses like Rose Kingdom, Tanino Gimlet and Transcend. There, the veteran found an unexpected talent: painting. He learned to paint on a canvas with a brush in his mouth, producing colourful abstract works. Staff at Versailles said his quiet, easygoing demeanour made him a suitable candidate for the experiment, and his first piece became an internet sensation.

After numerous requests from fans, Versailles Resort Farm put the original work up for auction in November 2024. It attracted 227 bids and eventually sold for ¥1.032 million, with the proceeds allocated toward the care of horses at the farm. Versailles has continued to make his artwork available in different forms, including full-size reproductions and digital versions of his paintings.

Wonder Acute in Uma Musume

As a character in Uma Musume: Pretty Derby, Wonder Acute gives off a calm, caring grandmother vibe. Her relaxed personality, high-tech struggles, and senior-like designcontrast sharply with the fierce, never-give-up competitor that emerges during a race.

Of course, they all draw from the longevity of the real Wonder Acute's career, which the in-game story mode even references. In the good ending, after completing the three-year campaign, she stays at the school to compete for another six years without visibly ageing, prompting whispers she might actually be immortal.

Her character relationships likewise draw from the horse’s real clashes on Japanese dirt. She has friendships and rivalries with Copano Rickey, Hokko Tarumae, Espoir City, Smart Falconand Transcend, who is also her roommate.

In addition to practising boxing, beadwork and decorative radish cutting as hobbies, the character is also an artist, mirroring the real horse’s painting activities.