You’ve been there. It’s the final segment of the URA Finals or Grand Masters, your support cards are glowing, and you’re hitting every rainbow training bond imaginable. You finish the run, the screen transitions, and... A+. Again. It’s frustrating. Getting an S rank Uma Musume feels like hitting a brick wall for mid-game players because the game doesn't explicitly tell you how the evaluation points are weighted. You see people on Twitter posting SS and UG ranks like it’s nothing, and you’re stuck wondering if you just need to whale on the latest banner or if there’s a mechanical secret you’re missing.
The truth is, an S rank isn't just about high stats. It’s a math problem.
Evaluation points—the "score" that determines your rank—come from a combination of raw attributes, skill levels, and the rarity of those skills. You could have a horse with 1200 Speed, but if her stamina is 300 and she has no gold skills, she’s going to rank lower than a balanced build with a loaded skill sheet. To hit that coveted S, you need roughly 14,500 evaluation points. If you're aiming for S+, you're looking at 15,900.
The Stat Thresholds That Actually Matter
Most players focus entirely on Speed. While Speed is king for winning races, the evaluation system rewards "total" growth. If you over-cap a stat early in a scenario like Project L'Arc or Reach for the Stars, you're essentially throwing away potential rank points.
To hit an S rank Uma Musume consistently, you generally want to see at least two stats hitting the 1000-1100 range, while ensuring your "dump" stats—usually Guts or Wisdom depending on the build—don't sit at a pathetic 300. Every 10 points in a stat gives you a specific amount of evaluation score. However, there’s a "soft cap" logic at play. Boosting a stat from 400 to 500 is often more "efficient" for your total score than pushing a 1100 stat to 1200, purely because of how support card bonuses scale during training sessions.
Don't ignore Wisdom. Honestly, Wisdom is the secret sauce for high ranks. It doesn't cost stamina to train, it restores energy, and it ensures your Uma actually uses the skills you bought. A high-ranking girl who fails to activate her gold skills in a race is just a trophy, but for the sake of the S rank label, Wisdom is basically free points.
Why Your Skill Choices Are Killing Your Rank
Here is where most people mess up. They buy every cheap "white" skill thinking quantity beats quality. It doesn't.
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The evaluation system heavily favors Gold Skills (officially called Rare Skills). A single Gold skill provides a massive jump in evaluation points compared to two or three regular skills that cost the same amount of Skill Points (Pt). If you want an S rank Uma Musume, you must prioritize support cards that guarantee Gold skill hints.
- Gold Skills: These are the heavy hitters. You want at least 3-5 of these.
- Unique Skill Levels: This is non-negotiable. You need to trigger the Valentine’s, Christmas, and New Year events that level up your Uma’s Unique skill. A Level 5 Unique skill provides a significantly higher score than a Level 1. To do this, you need enough fans and a specific amount of "Board" (support) level.
- Green Skills: Skills like "Right Turn" or "Sunny Weather" are cheap. If you have 50 Pt left at the end of a run, don't leave it unspent. Every little bit counts toward that 14,500 threshold.
Inheritance matters too. If you’re using parents with 1-star traits, you’re starting the race with lead weights on your ankles. You need 3-star Blue factors (Speed/Stamina/Power) to ensure your base stats are high enough that you aren't scrambling in the final year of training.
The Scenario Choice: Where to Train?
If you are still playing the URA Finals, stop. Just stop.
The power creep in Uma Musume Pretty Derby is real. Newer scenarios like Grand Masters, Project L'Arc, or the more recent U.A.F. Ready!! offer significantly higher stat ceilings and more Skill Points. For example, Project L'Arc simplifies the distance requirements, allowing you to focus entirely on stacking stats. It’s arguably the easiest place to farm your first S rank Uma Musume because the "Overseas Expeditions" give such massive stat boosts that you can sleepwalk into a high rank.
In the U.A.F. scenario, the color-coded training types allow you to specialized. If you match the training colors correctly, the bonus multipliers go through the roof. It's not uncommon for a well-managed U.A.F. run to end with three stats over 1200. That’s an automatic S or even SS rank regardless of your skill luck.
Support Card Deck Composition
You don't need a full deck of MLB (Max Limit Break) SSRs, but you do need a coherent strategy. A "balanced" deck usually looks like 3 Speed cards, 2 Intelligence (Wisdom) cards, and a Friend/Group card (like Mei or Tazuna).
Why this specific setup? Speed cards ensure you win the objective races so you don't get a "Game Over." Wisdom cards allow you to train without burning turns on the "Rest" command. The more turns you spend training instead of sleeping, the more stats you gain. It’s simple math. If you're struggling with an S rank Uma Musume, try swapping one Power card for another Speed card. Speed is the most efficient stat for point bloating.
Also, pay attention to "Training Effect Up" stats on your cards. Cards like Kitasan Black (SSR) or El Condor Pasa (SSR) are staples because they make every training session better, not just their own type.
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Common Pitfalls
- Ignoring the "Shiny" Training: Sometimes you see a Power training with 4 people and a Rainbow glow, but you really want Speed. Take the Power. The raw stat gain from a crowded training session usually outweighs the specific stat you're hunting in the long run.
- Not Healing Early: If your energy is at 20%, and you fail a training, you get a "Status Down" or a disease. That basically kills the run. An S rank run requires efficiency. Don't gamble on a 20% failure rate unless it's the very last turn of the game.
- Low Fan Count: If you don't have enough fans, your Unique skill won't level up. No level-up, no S rank. Check your schedule. Make sure you hit the G1 races like the Japan Cup or Arima Kinen.
The "Point Padding" Strategy
If you are sitting at 14,200 points and the run is over, you are in the "Skill Buy" phase. This is where you can "cheese" the rank.
Prioritize skills that have "Circles" (Double Circle skills). While they are expensive, they add a decent chunk of points. However, the most efficient way to pad your score is to buy a variety of cheap "White" skills rather than one expensive "Double Circle." The game rewards the first level of a skill more than the second level (the "Plus" version) in terms of raw evaluation points per Pt spent.
Basically, if you have 200 Pt, buying two separate skills is usually better for your rank than upgrading one skill to its "Gold" or "Double Circle" version, unless that upgrade is a high-value Gold skill from a support card.
Real World Example: The Sakura Bakushin O Method
If you just want the achievement and the shiny "S" on your profile, use Sakura Bakushin O. She is the easiest girl to rank up.
Focus entirely on Speed and Intelligence. Because her races are all Sprints, you don't need Stamina. You can completely ignore it. By dumping all your points into just two or three stats, you hit the caps faster. Use a friend's maxed-out Kitasan Black or a similar top-tier Speed card. Even with mediocre sub-cards, a "Speed/Wisdom" Bakushin O is the most reliable path to your first S rank Uma Musume.
Once you do it once, you'll realize it's less about luck and more about optimizing your "Training Turn" economy. Stop resting so much. Use Wisdom training to heal.
What to do next
Now that you know the rank is a calculation of stats and skill weights, your first step is to audit your support deck. Look for cards that provide "Skill Pt Bonus"—this is the most important stat for late-game ranking because it allows you to buy the skills that bridge the gap from A+ to S.
Go into your next run with a goal: don't just win the races, but try to finish with at least 400 in your lowest stat. That floor is just as important as the ceiling. Once you hit S, the jump to SS is just a matter of repeating this process with better inheritance factors. Start by farming a 3-star Speed factor from your own roster or a follow-list.
Practical Next Steps:
- Check Inheritance: Ensure your chosen Uma has at least 6 to 9 stars of relevant Blue factors (Speed/Power) from parents.
- Swap Scenarios: Move your training to the Project L'Arc or U.A.F. scenario for higher stat caps.
- Prioritize Gold: Save your Skill Points for at least 3-4 Gold skills rather than a dozen minor ones.
- Level Uniques: Ensure you meet the fan requirements (usually 60k to 120k depending on the era) to level up your Unique skill mid-run.