You're staring at the screen, your heart is racing, and the Chukyo turf is blurred by a digital rainstorm. It's the Takamatsunomiya Kinen Uma Musume players dread most. 1200 meters. Left-handed. Often heavy track conditions. If you think you can just slap some speed on a girl and pray for a gold trophy, you’re basically throwing your training points into a blender. Honestly, this race is one of the biggest "noob traps" in the entire game because it defies the standard "Speed is King" logic that carries you through the Arima Kinen or the Japan Cup.
Short distance racing in Uma Musume: Pretty Derby isn't just about being fast. It's about being explosive within a microscopic window of time.
The Takamatsunomiya Kinen is the first G1 sprint of the year in the real-world Japanese horse racing calendar, and Cygames translated that prestige into a digital nightmare for the unprepared. You've got the slight rise in the final stretch at Chukyo Racecourse, the treacherous turn, and the sheer density of the pack. If your girl gets blocked, it’s over. There's no recovery time. You have exactly 70 seconds—give or take—to prove your build works. If it doesn't? You're looking at a 10th-place finish and a lot of wasted energy drinks.
What's Actually Happening in the Takamatsunomiya Kinen?
Chukyo 1200m is weird. Unlike the straight-line sprints you might see in other global circuits, this one requires a very specific type of positioning. In the context of Takamatsunomiya Kinen Uma Musume builds, you have to account for the "Chukyo Wall." The final 412 meters of the straight include a steep incline.
Most players focus purely on the Speed stat (1200 or the 1600 cap depending on your scenario). That's a mistake. Power is arguably more important here because it dictates how well your girl can push through the pack and handle that uphill climb without losing her momentum. If your Power stat is lagging behind your Speed by more than 200 points, you're going to see your character "stutter" right when the acceleration skills should be kicking in.
Then there's the "Guts" factor. In recent meta updates, Guts (Root) has become a secondary speed modifier during the final spurt. For a sprint like this, high Guts prevents "tare-uma" (falling behind) and helps in the frantic shoulder-to-shoulder jostling that happens at the turn.
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The Skill Trap: Why "Sprinters' Turbo" Isn't Enough
Stop relying on generic gold skills. Everyone uses "Sprint Turbo" (電撃の煌めき). It's fine. It's a staple. But in the Takamatsunomiya Kinen Uma Musume meta, the winners are usually decided by "Acceleration" (Kasoku) skills that trigger exactly at the transition from the third corner to the final straight.
If your acceleration skill fires too early, it's wasted. If it fires too late, the race is already finished. You want skills like "Plan X" or "Curtain Call," but more importantly, you need to look at the unique skills of the girls themselves.
Take Curren Chan. She’s the queen of this distance for a reason. Her unique skill triggers when she's in a good position near the end, providing a mix of speed and acceleration. Or look at King Halo—though she’s notoriously difficult to train because of her high-stress schedule, her high-voltage finish is legendary if you can actually get her to the final straight in one piece.
Weather and Track Conditions: The Silent Killers
In the Champions Meeting or PvP versions of the Takamatsunomiya Kinen, Cygames loves to set the track to "Heavy" (Omo) or "Bad" (Ryobu). This mirrors the real-life 2020 and 2021 races where the rain turned the track into a swamp.
Bad track conditions drain Stamina. "Wait," you say, "it's a 1200m race, why do I need Stamina?"
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Because a heavy track increases the stamina cost significantly. If you've bottomed out your Stamina at 300-400 because "it's just a sprint," your girl will hit a "stamina cliff" at the 1000m mark. Her speed will tank. For a rainy Takamatsunomiya Kinen, you actually want to aim for 500-600 Stamina plus at least one recovery skill just to be safe. It sounds counter-intuitive for a sprint, but the math doesn't lie.
The Best Girls for the Job
Not all sprinters are created equal. When you're prepping for the Takamatsunomiya Kinen Uma Musume events, you generally see a few faces dominating the podium:
- Daiwa Scarlet (Sprint Alt): If you can build her for lead (Runner), she’s a beast.
- Aston Machan: The current gold standard for many. Her ability to hold the front is unmatched.
- Meano Topgun (Bride): Surprisingly viable if you're playing the "Between" (Betwixt) strategy.
- Sakura Bakushin O: The classic. The legend. She’s easy to build, though her ceiling is lower than the newer, flashier units. She's the "ol' reliable" that will get you a clear, but maybe not a PvP win against whales.
The strategy you choose—Runner (逃げ), Leader (先行), Betwixt (差し), or Chaser (追込)—changes everything about your stat distribution. Runners need insane Speed and Intelligence to stay ahead of the pack's "dead zone." Chasers, while rare in sprints, need astronomical Power to teleport from last to first in the final 200 meters.
Intelligence (Wisdom) is Not a Dump Stat
I see so many builds with 1200 Speed and 400 Intelligence. You’re asking for a loss. Intelligence dictates how often your skills trigger and how well your girl positions herself. In a 1200m race, if you miss a single skill activation, you lose. You don't have time for the RNG to "catch up."
Aim for at least 800-1000 Intelligence. This ensures that your "shikake" (move making) happens at the optimal time. It also helps avoid the "kakari" (over-excitement) state, which wastes stamina and ruins your positioning. There's nothing worse than seeing your favorite girl zoom to the front too early, run out of breath, and get swallowed by the pack at the 800m mark.
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Breaking Down the Support Card Deck
Your deck should be lopsided. For a Takamatsunomiya Kinen Uma Musume run, a 3-Speed / 2-Intelligence / 1-Friend or 2-Speed / 1-Power / 2-Intelligence / 1-Guts split is common.
You need cards that give sprint-specific hints. "Bamboo Memory" (SSR Guts) is a godsend for sprinters because of the "Will to Win" skill. "Sakura Bakushin O" (SSR Speed) is almost mandatory for the "Groundwork" skill if you're running a Lead strategy.
Don't ignore the SR cards either. Some SR cards, like "Sweep Tosho," provide incredible speed buffs and training efficiency that rival lower-tier SSRs. Look for cards that give "Sprint Straight" or "Corner Acceleration."
Common Misconceptions About the Chukyo Track
People think left-handed tracks don't matter much. They do. If you don't have the "Left-Handed" skill (左回り), you're leaving a Speed bonus on the table. The Takamatsunomiya Kinen is always left-handed. Likewise, "Chukyo Racecourse" is a specific green skill that boosts your Stamina. These "passive" skills are often the difference between a Grade A and a Grade S+ ranking in terms of actual performance.
Another myth? That "Chasers" can't win sprints. While it's incredibly hard, a Chaser with the right inheritance (Aogumo Sky's "Angling x Scheming" is useless here, but think about Oguri Cap’s "Shooting Star") can occasionally sweep the entire field. It's risky, but it's the ultimate flex.
Actionable Steps for Your Next Training Session
To actually win the Takamatsunomiya Kinen Uma Musume challenge, stop following the "General Purpose" guides and specialize:
- Prioritize Power and Guts: Aim for a 1200/600/1000/800/1000 stat spread (Speed/Stamina/Power/Guts/Wisdom) as a baseline for high-level play.
- Inherit Specific Skills: Look for parents that offer "Spring Uma Musume" or "Left-Handed." These flat stat bonuses are applied after the cap, making them incredibly powerful.
- Watch the Replays: If your girl is losing, look at where she loses. If she's getting blocked, increase Wisdom. If she's slowing down on the hill, increase Power. If she’s fading at the end, increase Stamina or Guts.
- Focus on "White Skills": Don't just hunt for Gold skills. Multiple "White" (normal) acceleration skills like "Straight Acceleration" or "Curry Favor" can stack to be more effective than a single Gold skill that triggers at the wrong time.
- Check the Grass: Ensure your "Turf" and "Short Distance" aptitudes are S-rank. This is non-negotiable. An A-rank in Short Distance compared to an S-rank is a hidden speed penalty that you simply cannot overcome with stats alone.
The Takamatsunomiya Kinen isn't a race you win during the final spurt; it's a race you win in the inheritance screen and the support card selection. Get the specific track buffs, balance your Power against your Speed, and make sure your Wisdom is high enough to actually use the kit you built. Success at Chukyo is about precision, not just raw force.