ShaggyIsLife @imnotshepard

@nomorefielders I've never seen someone put my same feelings about them into words. The thing that irks me the most in their work is how static the songs are, never changing speeds

@the_freakin_yui I wouldn't want to mess with those guys

@SAKURACHIYONOO1 Go get your run on Everyone else, pick your favorite Chiyo png from the batch, mines 103

64. "Echo of dreams" - Yokoyama Norihiro, Kazuo, Takeshi & Seiun Sky, Titleholder - Though in Uma Musume’s first season anime, Seiun Sky’s Kikka Sho victory only flashes by in a few frames, the real race was anything but brief. It was a masterclass in tactics, a perfect showdown of strategy and trust, and a showcase of the remarkable bond between horse and rider. That performance also explains why Seiun Sky is described in the official introduction as “...lazy on the outside, but actually a schemer who lulls others into letting down their guard.” We shall turn the clock back to 1998. 1. The Kikka Sho, the final leg of the Japanese Triple Crown, is a 3000-meter clockwise race, a true test of stamina and guts. In Japan, there used to be a saying: “Satsuki Sho is for the fastest horse, the Derby is for the luckiest horse, and the Kikka Sho is for the strongest horse.” For Seiun Sky and his rider Yokoyama Norihiro, doubts had already started to surface after finishing fourth in the Derby. Questions about his pedigree were raised—“Is 2400 meters simply too long for Seiun Sky?”. There was even discussion about skipping the Kikka Sho altogether and instead aiming at the Tenno Sho(autumn). But in the end, his connections bravely chose to continue toward the Triple Crown path. In the 1998 Kikka Sho, the heavy favorite was none other than Special Week, who had dominated the Derby by five lengths under the long-distance specialist Take Yutaka, known as “Kiku-otoko” (basically he wins Kikka Sho a lot type of thing). With such a formidable pairing, Special Week stood as the overwhelming 1.5x favorite. By contrast, since a front-running victory was considered nearly impossible in the grueling Kikka Sho, Seiun Sky entered as the 4.3x second favorite. Yet on this day, Seiun Sky once again delivered a performance that would capture the hearts of all who watched — a race that remains legendary to this day. To fully appreciate this race, one must first understand a factor often overlooked in horse racing: pace. Racing is, of course, a contest of speed, but horses are living creatures with limits, and managing how that energy is spent is one of the true tests of a jockey’s skill. On the day, however, Seiun Sky flipped expectations. From the start, he went straight to the lead, covering the opening 1000 meters in 59.6 seconds. It wasn’t fast enough to break away, but it was quick enough to force the rest of the field into following his rhythm rather than saving energy. Then, in the middle stage, the pace suddenly collapsed to 64.3 seconds for the next 1000 meters. It was such a slowdown that many rivals assumed Seiun Sky had gone out too hard early and was already running on empty. They began planning their moves, thinking they would sweep past him soon enough. But in truth, this was exactly the trap Seiun Sky and Yokoyama Norihiro had laid. Before the famous ”Yodo Hill" (淀の坂) even arrived, Seiun Sky launched again, accelerating with nearly a lap still to run. No frontrunner had ever dared to attack so early, and the other jockeys, confused by the strange pattern of fast-slow-fast, hesitated. By the time they realized it wasn’t a bluff, Seiun Sky had already stolen five lengths, and he never looked back. With a final 1000 meters in 59.3 seconds, he galloped home three and a half lengths clear of Special Week, stopping the clock in a 3000m world record (at the time) of 3:03.2. This is exactly why Uma Musume pays tribute through the nickname Trickster (トリックスター), one of its activation conditions is to lead from 200 meters after the start all the way to the finish in the Kikka Sho, which is a direct homage to this unforgettable performance. 2. The story is worth revisiting not only because the tactics themselves are so often discussed, but also because no one could have imagined how strongly it would echo two decades later. Just like the Take family we mentioned in a previous post, the Yokoyamas are also a true racing family. It all began with their father, Yokoyama Tomio, who first became a jockey more than sixty years ago. His two sons, Yoshikazu (now a riding coach at the JRA jockey school) and Norihiro, carried on the legacy in the saddle. Norihiro, of course, was the partner of Seiun Sky in the 1998 Kikka Sho. And the lineage continued further: Norihiro’s own sons, Kazuo and Takeshi, would step into the irons as well. In 2021, Takeshi, fresh from capturing his first G1 in the Satsuki Sho with Efforia, entered the Kikka Sho aboard Titleholder, a son of Duramente (who had tragically passed away earlier that same year). By the time the 2021 Kikka Sho approached, the stage was set for chaos. The classic contenders had scattered: Satsuki Sho winner Efforia, defeated in the Derby, aimed instead for the Tenno Sho (Autumn). Derby winner Shahryar, coming off a disappointing loss in the Kobe Shimbun Hai, shifted his focus toward the Japan Cup. Other G1 winners like Danon the Kid, Grenadier Guards, and Schnell Meister all chose separate paths, leaving the Kikka Sho without any proven top-level champion. Titleholder entered the race as one of the few with genuine claims. Up to this point, while he had won both his debut and the Yayoi Sho using front-running tactics, his style had been more of a passive escape, taking the lead only when uncontested, or sitting behind another leader and grinding it out from second position. But in the St. Lite Kinen, this strategy failed disastrously: trapped mid-pack with no running room, he faded badly to finish 13th. Lesson learned, Takeshi and Titleholder came into the Kikka Sho determined to take control of the race. Breaking sharply, they immediately claimed the lead, settling into a comfortable rhythm and keeping about a one-and-a-half-length advantage over World Revival down the backstretch. They crossed the opening 1000 meters in exactly 1:00.0 before easing the pace slightly, conserving strength while staying in command. Around the final turn, Sefer Rasiel briefly threatened to close the gap, but Titleholder responded instantly, quickened again into the stretch, and powered away to score a dominant wire-to-wire victory — winning by five lengths over Orthoclase. The last horse to escape and dominate the Kikka Sho like this was none other than Seiun Sky under Norihiro Yokoyama, 23 years ago. But this victory carried yet another layer of meaning. For Titleholder, it wasn’t just an individual triumph; it was also a symbolic fulfillment of his bloodline. His sire, Duramente, a brilliant double crown winner, had tragically missed his chance at the Kikka Sho due to injury and was never able to attempt completing the Triple Crown. In a way, Titleholder, as Duramente’s first G1-winning offspring, redeemed that regret — crossing the line where his father never had the chance to. 3. On the other hand, Kazuo, Takeshi’s older brother, had a very different journey. Despite debuting earlier, he was never hailed as a “prodigy” the way his younger brother was. For eleven long years, he chased his first G1 victory without success. Then, in 2022, Titleholder once again delivered — this time partnering with Kazuo in the Tenno Sho (Spring), a grueling 3200-meter stayer’s race. What unfolded that day was almost unbelievable, a near-perfect replay of the Kikka Sho tactics (tbf it is also unbelievable they let him pull off the same trick again). Titleholder went straight to the front, controlled the pace, and then kicked clear with devastating acceleration to secure Kazuo’s 11-year-long-awaited first G1 title. All three Yokoyamas, father Norihiro, younger brother Takeshi, and now Kazuo, celebrated their landmark victories with the same winning pose, pointing their right hand to the sky. Since then, Kazuo has been transformed. Breaking through that first G1 barrier seemed to unlock a new level of confidence and consistency, steadily climbing the ranks to finish among the Top 20 jockeys, and even pushing toward the Top 10 in recent seasons. The strategy, the patience, and the growth all echo the lessons carried within the Yokoyama family legacy. 4. In horse racing, victories are never just about speed, distance, or tactics. They are stories, deeply human, deeply equine, woven across decades. The Yokoyama family’s journey, Seiun Sky’s daring escape, Duramente’s unfulfilled dream, and Titleholder’s redemption are all threads in the same tapestry. This is what makes racing magical. Sometimes, it’s not just one horse running a race, but generations running together: the father’s wisdom carried by the son, the sire’s unfinished chapter completed by his foal, echoes of history replayed on the very same turf. One moment, one strategy, one burst of courage can ripple through time, linking past and present in ways no one could script. In the roar of the crowd and the thunder of hooves, you feel it: racing is never just about today’s finish line. It is about memory and legacy, heartbreak and triumph, and the extraordinary ways human and horse stories intertwine across generations, again and again, creating magic only this sport can offer. *Bonus in thread

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@the_freakin_yui Hell yeah

@myticalcat If Meek is happy, I'm happy

@Misterl0l_8 @the_freakin_yui Tf2 and Umamusume, my two true loves.also, sky being soldier is inherently hilarious

headpat headpat <3 (cm for 40wetnoodles!) #copanorickey #wonderacute #umamusume

@the_freakin_yui Peak Npc

@chiyotimely Even Chiyo can't handle how cute Chiyo is

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i just made BULLSHIT jk, Samson Big edit <3

@the_freakin_yui

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@the_freakin_yui Watch out, it might decide to head out to Catalina just because

@albertweskerh This is especially goated after seeing End of Evangelion in theaters yesterday

I’m cheering for Agnes Tachyon because [enter reason here] 🥕 Join the event on @umamusume_eng for a chance to win 1,500 carats! #Umamusume #GrandConcert

@albertweskerh Go get yo money king

@albertweskerh Sweet googly moogly