Umamusume: Pretty Derby's global version hit its 1.5th Anniversary in July 2026, with anniversary banners spanning Bamboo Memory, Copano Rickey, Agnes Tachyon, and Tokai Teio (new outfit). This isn't a game where "best trainee" cleanly means "highest tier" — every trainee is a specialist, and the meta shifts by distance and by scenario (URA, Unity Cup, Grand Live, Trackblazer). Our tier list scores each on flexibility across scenarios.
Anniversary pull priority: Bamboo Memory (new trainee, best sprinter this patch), then the SSR selector ticket for a support card. Skip Speed SSRs on the character banner — they're on rate-up but the support card equivalents rerun more often.
How we tier trainees
Every trainee has:
- Aptitudes across five stats (Speed, Stamina, Power, Guts, Wisdom) — determines potential.
- Distance preferences (Sprint, Mile, Medium, Long) — determines which races they can peak in.
- Running style (Front runner, Pace chaser, Late surger, End closer) — determines their race position and skill triggers.
- Unique skill — the flagship skill each trainee unlocks at their signature moment.
Tiers score across all distances and scenarios; specialist picks (Sprint-only, Long-only) get called out separately.
Tier at a glance
| Trainee | Best distance | Tier | Signature strength |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bamboo Memory (new) | Sprint / Mile | S | Sprint aptitude ceiling |
| Kitasan Black | Medium / Long | S | Stamina scaling |
| Silence Suzuka | Medium | S | Front-runner sprinter kit |
| Vodka | Mile | S | Universal flex |
| Daiwa Scarlet | Mile | S | Pace chaser damage |
| Tokai Teio (new outfit) | Medium | A | Wisdom-based skill triggers |
| Agnes Tachyon (Speed) | Mile | A | Speed stat generator |
| Copano Rickey | Mile | A | Balanced Guts pick |
| El Condor Pasa | Medium | A | Late-surger dueler |
| Special Week | Long | A | Stamina ceiling |
S-tier — flexible across scenarios
Bamboo Memory is the new anniversary trainee — her Sprint aptitude ceiling is the highest available in the global version. Even if you don't run pure Sprint races, her Mile flex is better than most Mile mains.
Kitasan Black, Silence Suzuka, Vodka, Daiwa Scarlet stay the core S-tier because they scale into every scenario. Kitasan carries stamina-hungry Long races, Suzuka's front-runner kit dominates Champions Meeting sprints, Vodka is universal, Daiwa's pace-chaser style hits every Mile ceiling.
A-tier — strong specialists
Tokai Teio's new outfit shifts her from Guts to Wisdom, opening up cleaner skill triggers in Medium races. Great pick if you don't own the original Teio.
The rest of A-tier are excellent specialists — Agnes Tachyon for Speed decks, Copano Rickey for Guts builds, El Condor Pasa for pace duelists, Special Week for pure Stamina.
Trainee picks by scenario
- URA (default) — Vodka, Daiwa Scarlet, Kitasan Black. Universal flex.
- Unity Cup — Silence Suzuka, Bamboo Memory. Sprint specialists dominate.
- Grand Live — Wisdom-heavy picks (Tokai Teio new, Agnes Tachyon).
- Trackblazer — Kitasan Black, Special Week. Stamina scaling matters most.
Don't skip the support card banner
Support cards decide more of your career outcome than the trainee. Every training session is a deck-building exercise — six slots, each with a specific bonus. Prioritize:
- Speed SSRs — Fine Motion, Silence Suzuka, Kitasan Black are all worth pulling.
- The 1.5th Anniversary SSR selector ticket — pick a Speed SSR you don't own.
- Skip R-rank cards — they're crafting fodder.
For this guide we consulted the Game8 Umamusume: Pretty Derby wiki (1.5th Anniversary banner list, aptitude tiers, scenario release schedule), the Cygames official page, and community discussion on Reddit and player Discords.