You’re cruising through your run. Your speed is high, your girl is in a great mood, and you’ve basically stomped every race from the debut to the Satsuki Sho. Then it happens. The calendar flips to late April in your Senior Year, and suddenly, you're staring down 3,200 meters of Kyoto turf.
The Tenno Sho Spring Uma experience is often where dreams go to die. It’s a wall.
If you haven’t prepared, your horse girl will likely run out of steam at the final corner, head drooping as the rest of the pack sails past. It's frustrating. It feels personal. But honestly, it’s usually just a math problem you haven't solved yet.
The 3,200m Reality Check
Let's be real: most races in this game don't require you to actually care about stamina. You can brute-force a mile race with pure speed. You can even wiggle through a medium-distance race if your power is high enough to burst at the end.
The Tenno Sho Spring is different. It is the longest Grade 1 race in the game.
To survive this, you need a stamina stat that looks "wrong" compared to your other runs. We’re talking 600 stamina as a bare minimum. If you’re sitting at 450, you might as well just hand the trophy to the NPCs now.
Why the Kyoto Track Kills Runs
The race is held at Kyoto, which is right-handed and famously long. It’s a "Standard Distance" track (divisible by 400), which means skills like Standard Distance ○ actually provide a hidden boost.
Most people ignore these green skills. Don't.
When you're fighting for every inch in the final 400 meters, that tiny efficiency boost from Kyoto Racecourse ○ or Spring Runner ○ can be the difference between a podium finish and a 10th-place disaster.
Picking the Right Girl for the Job
Not every Uma is built for this torture. Some are forced into it by their career goals, which is why everyone has a "Rice Shower trauma" story.
If you’re just trying to clear the mission or the scenario, you have to be picky about who you send into the meat grinder.
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- Gold Ship: She’s the queen of this race for a reason. Her stamina growth is 20%. She’s built to endure. Plus, being an End Closer means she saves her energy for one massive, terrifying surge at the end.
- Mejiro McQueen: She has it as a mandatory goal. Her unique skill gives her a great speed boost on the final corner, but you must have the stamina to reach that corner first.
- Rice Shower: The "Hero Killer." She’s iconic but difficult. She needs a massive amount of stamina and recovery skills because her career path is basically one long endurance test.
- Super Creek: If you have her, use her. Her unique skill, Healing Grace, is basically a stamina battery that kicks in mid-race.
The "Secret" Recovery Meta
You can have 800 stamina and still lose if you don't have recovery skills. This is the part most beginners mess up.
There are "White" skills and "Gold" skills. For Tenno Sho Spring, you want at least one Gold recovery skill. Swinging Maestro (from the Super Creek support card) is the gold standard. It’s reliable. It doesn't care about your positioning as much as other skills do.
Cool Down or Gourmand are fine backups, but they can be finicky.
If your stamina is hovering around 500-550, you better have two gold recovery skills or a very high Guts stat to compensate. Speaking of Guts—don’t ignore it entirely. In 2026, the meta has shifted a bit, and having around 300-400 Guts helps you resist the "fatigue" penalty that kicks in during the last 100 meters.
Training Phase: A Rough Timeline
You can't just start training stamina in the Senior year. By then, it’s too late.
In your Junior year (the first year), focus on building bonds with your support cards. You need those friendship training triggers. Use this time to get your Speed to a respectable level so you don't fail the early mile/medium races.
By the Classic year (year two), you should be hitting the Stamina button regularly.
Before the Kikuka Sho (3,000m), you want to see at least 450-500 stamina. If you can't hit that, you’re going to struggle. Once that race is over, use the winter and early spring of your Senior year to push that number toward 600 or 700.
A Quick Checklist for Success:
- Stamina Target: 600+ (700 is safer).
- Recovery: One Gold skill (Maestro is best).
- Speed: At least 500-600 so you don't get left in the dust.
- Tactics: Pace Chasers and Front Runners are generally safer for NPCs, but Gold Ship thrives as an End Closer.
Common Myths That'll Ruin You
"I can just use a lot of Speed and hope for the best." No.
"Intelligence (Wit) doesn't matter for long races." Also no. High Wit helps your girl "save" stamina by staying in a better lane and triggering recovery skills more consistently. You don't need 1000 Wit, but sitting at 200 is asking for a skill to fail right when you need it most.
Basically, the Tenno Sho Spring is the game's way of asking: "Did you actually build a long-distance runner, or did you just build a fast horse?"
If you want to win, respect the distance. Stop neglecting the blue training button.
To get your next run ready, go check your support library right now for Super Creek (SSR) or Power Rice Shower (SSR). If you don't own them, find a friend who does and borrow them. You absolutely need those gold recovery hints before you even think about hitting the Kyoto turf again. High-level stamina inheritance from your parents is the other half of the puzzle—aim for at least 6 to 9 stars in Stamina from your legacy Umas to give yourself a massive head start.