Mejiro Palmer is known for being a 'Runaway' racer, but is she still worth pulling when you can't give her that skill in the current 'Trackblazer' scenario?
Mejiro Palmer, the fifth member of the prestigious Mejiro family, is soon set to join the ever-expanding roster of trainees in Umamusume: Pretty Derby's global version at 10PM on 10 May UTC (6AM, 11 May SGT). Mejiro Palmer is a Front Runner specialised for Medium and Long-distance tracks on Turf, with her real-life basis known for winning the Takarazuka Kinen and the Arima Kinen in 1992.
But given the strength of the current roster of Front Runners in the game, how does Mejiro Palmer stack up against her competitors? Will she be worth the Carats? Read on as we break down if you should pull for Mejiro Palmer.
Umamusume: Pretty Derby
Release date: 26 June, 2025 (worldwide)
Developer: Cygames
Platforms: iOS, Android, Windows PC
Should you pull for Mejiro Palmer?
[Line Breakthrough] Mejiro Palmer
Aptitudes:
| Turf | A |
| Dirt | G |
| Sprint | G |
| Mile | F |
| Medium | A |
| Long | A |
| Front Runner | A |
| Pace Chaser | E |
| Late Surger | F |
| End Closer | G |
Stat growth bonuses: Speed (10%), Stamina (10%), Guts (10%)
Unique skill: Keep Pushing Ahead
If positioned toward the front from the start of the race until the second half of the race, good vibes recover endurance and moderately increase velocity steadily.
Mejiro Palmer is a Front Runner specialised for Medium and Long-distance races on Turf. She is also the second Umamusume in the game after Silence Suzuka to get access to the ‘Runaway’ skill, which lets them attempt to gain an especially large lead early in the race and keep it until the finish as long as she has enough Stamina.
Stat growth bonuses towards Stamina and Guts, as well as her unique skill, will help Mejiro Palmer towards achieving Runaway victories, much like the real-life horse did.
However, Mejiro Palmer will be unable to access the ‘Runaway’ skill in the current ‘Trackblazer’ scenario, which disables all career events. She will also have a hard time maximising the bonus stats she can get from ‘Trackblazer’ Epithets due to her ‘F’ Aptitude for Mile races, requiring significant Spark investment to get her to run in that distance comfortably.
Now let's get to Mejiro Palmer's innate skills, which include ‘Playtime’s Over!', ‘Front Runner Straightaways’, and ‘Keeping the Lead’. She can also innately learn the skills ‘Early Lead’, ‘See Ya Later!’, ‘Long Shot’, and ‘Vanguard Spirit’ when her Potential Levels are raised. In addition, she can also get skill hints for ‘Front Runner Savvy’ and ‘Sympathy’ from her career events.
Mejiro Palmer's innate skills help her maintain the lead if you have ‘Runaway’, but can still help with the mid-race battles against other Front Runners if she doesn't have that skill. However, Mejiro Palmer doesn't have easy access to ‘Groundwork’, so you will need the right Legacies or Support Cards if you want her to be competitive against the likes of meta Front Runners like Valentine's Mihono Bourbon or Summer Maruzensky.
Unfortunately, Mejiro Palmer won't be able to race at her full potential if you want to run her in Champions Meetings for the foreseeable future. Her kit is geared towards having the ‘Runaway’ skill, which she won't have access to if you want the stat levels from ‘Trackblazer’. If you train her in the ‘Unity Cup’ scenario instead to give her the ‘Runaway’ skill, then she'll have much lower stats and skill points compared to other Umamusume trained in ‘Trackblazer’.
Make no mistake, Mejiro Palmer can become a very powerful racer with enough effort in training her. But if you're pulling for her now, then you'll have to treat her as a future investment. You'll have to wait for the next scenario to come out later this year to see her reach her full potential. However, that potential is well worth any Carats you spend pulling for her.
