Umamusume: Cinderella Gray - Episode 9 & 10 Reaction [UNEDITED]

Maruzensky is one of the greatest what-ifs in Japans racing history - a perfect record of 8 races with 8 wins with absolutely insanely dominant margins of victory but he was a foreign bred horse and at the time (the late 70s) Japan had extremely restrictive rules in place which forbade foreign horses from running in the nations top races. This was before Japan adopted the International Grading system so there was no G1, G2, G3 - these top of the top races were instead known as Japans "Eight Great Races" - The Triple Crown classics The Oka Sho (now the first leg of the Triple Tiara) Both the spring & autumn Tenno Sho and the Arima Kinen The public wanted to see this super horse race at the top but the JRA refused to budge. For the derby, his jockey Seiichi Nakanowatari basically begged the JRA to let him run the race in a non-competing start - "...I don't care if the horse starts from the furthest outside post. We won't interfere with the other horses. We don't need the prize money. We just want to see how the horse would do..." - But the JRA still refused. The world never got to see what Maruzensky was truly capable of but its almost as if he took all of the denial and rejection from the JRA and funneled it into his offspring - he basically said that if he couldn't atleast RUN in Japans top races, then his children and their children would WIN them all. Horisky - Kikuka Sho Sakura Chiyono O - Japanese Derby Winning Ticket - Japanese Derby Rice Shower - Kikuka Sho and dual Tenno Sho spring Special Week - Japanese Derby, Japan Cup, Tenno Sho sweep Buena Vista - 6 G1 victories, Double Tiara, Tenno Sho Autumn, Japan Cup Cesario - Yushun Himba, first Japanese horse to win an American G1 at the American Oaks Epiphaneia - Kikuka Sho, Japan Cup Efforia - Satsuki Sho, Tenno Sho autumn, Arima Kinen Saturnalia - Satsuki Sho Daring Tact - Triple Tiara Danon Decile - Japanese Derby Museum Mile - Satsuki Sho, Arima Kinen As a tangent, Maruzensky stands out as rather unique among the vast majority of other Umamusume as a horse of such calibre with such dominance would normally have multiple graded wins; but again since Maruzensky ran in the era before Graded classes his race record is entirely devoid of graded stats and this is because race records are not retroactively adjusted if a race is promoted or demoted in grade. If a horse wins a G2 and then 5 years later that race is upgraded to G1 then it remains a G2 on that horses race history. As such, though Maruzensky won a modern G1, two modern G2s and a modern G3, they are not retroactively viewed as graded races and thus he and his Uma counterpart remain ungraded.

wrapping up the first chapter, that was dern great! onto white lightning! its consistently amusing how tiny Tamamo Cross is, in any group shot she is significantly smaller than anyone else yet has so much power, its such a great contrast. ALSO what is up with uma and emotionally charged phone calls, loved the chat between Oguri and March and i just love March so much, among my faves. really excited to close out cour 1, those last 3 eps gonna be a blast

Just played through Chiyono's career this week, seeing her in the Derby is making me tear up again.