Cheval Grand

Cheval Grand is a 3-star Medium / Long character in Uma Musume: Pretty Derby. Cheval Grand's running style is Pace Chaser. Dormitory: Tracen Academy Ritto Dormitory.

Other Medium / Long characters in Uma Musume: Pretty Derby: Air Shakur, Biwa Hayahide, Chrono Genesis, Dream Journey, Eishin Flash, Epiphaneia and 34 more.

An umamusume, Cheval Grand has short chestnut brown hair with a white blaze marking on her bangs, blue eyes with bright pupils and wears a distinctive white and light blue peaked cap with black cover outlets for her ears, the right one having some gold decorations at the outside edge.

The hat is decorated with a "anchor within a stylized V" insignia, which is shared with her sisters.

Trivia

When her profile was announced, her sisters were also suggested.

Later they appeared in season 3 of the anime.

Some of Cheval Grand's traits are references to her real life counterpart's owner, Kazuhiro Sasaki:

One of her hobbies is fishing — shared with that of Sasaki.

In the anime, she often holds a fork in her hand — when Sasaki was active in baseball as a pitcher, his best pitch was forkball.

Cheval Grand, along with her siblings Verxina and Vivlos, all feature touches in their signature racewear referencing the letter 'V', as well as an anchor design — many of Sasaki's horses have letter "V" on their names, as well as he himself affiliated with sea-themed clubs on his pro baseball days.

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Cheval Grand'Elder sister Verxina, younger sister Vivlos', the commentator mentioned,

This was the moment that he had been a match for his sisters, who he held a complex for, defeating his contemporary.

Yuuhi Hattori (Kansai TV)

Cheval Grand is a racehorse that competed in the 2010s.

With his career beginning in 2014, he won his first and only G1 victory at the 2017 Japan Cup, where he defeated Kitasan Black.

Name Origin

Cheval grand ― "Great sire" in French. Many of Kazuhiro Sasaki's horses has "V" in their names.

His owner is Kazuhiro "Dai Majin" Sasaki, a former baseball player with the Yokohama BayStars and Seattle Mariners.

He and his sisters are known as "silver collectors".

This has led to jokes invoking Sasaki's own relationship to the number 2, as he wore the uniform number 22, and was born on February 22nd (2/22).

One of Sasaki's best pitches is his forkball.

In Umamusume, Cheval Grand makes some references to this through "fork" jokes.

One of Sasaki's hobby is fishing. In 2023, he won the fourth prize at the Ibaraki International Fishing Festival, fishing a 101 kg-weighed swordfish.

The umamusume incarnation of Cheval Grand also refers to this episode.

Though he only won one G1, he frequently placed, taking in consistent earnings as a result.

His total earnings of 113 million JPY is the most among Japanese G1 winners, surpassing Meisho Doto.

As of December 2025, he retired from stud duties and is moved to Northern Horse Park.

"...Cheval Grand... You know... I know this may seem like a bit of a stretch, but...

Someday, I'll do my best to be great... No, I will be great."

Ambitious with a timid heart. Aiming to become a great Umamusume.

She's introverted, withdrawn, and has an inferiority complex about her talented older and younger sisters.

She spends her time working hard to hopefully surpass them both one day, and have her own abilities acknowledged.

She's not on bad terms with either of her siblings...

but they both have a glamorous temperament, which makes her a bit out of place when they're together.

Appearance

Though she is the quiet middle child of the family, Cheval is a soul that dreams big.

Like her sisters, her eyes are blue with white pupils, but hers are a much lighter shade compared to their deep blues.

Her hair is simple yet distinct—a grayish-brown, medium-length layered bob with soft bangs.

It carries a slightly messy charm, with the ends jutting out unevenly.

The most striking feature is a platinum streak that runs along the right side of her hair, setting her apart from other Umamusume, who often have center streaks.

Cheval's sailor cap might as well be her prized possession, as she wears it everywhere.

The white cap features a blue band, her family's crest and neat ear pockets, perfectly tailored for her ears.

Cheval wears a distinctive white jacket over a black underlayer.

The jacket subtly resembles a classic sailor uniform, with light blue collars and cuffs, while incorporating elements of naval jackets, such as the double rows of gold buttons.

Her underlayer features a neat yellow ribbon neck tie.

Draped over her shoulders is a cape. The cape's interior is a deep blue, reminiscent of the night sky, while the exterior is a lighter blue adorned with unique markings.

Its design can be interpreted as wings—a metaphor for her desire to grow and become the person she aspires to be, much like a butterfly emerging from its cocoon.

Another interpretation could be her personal voyage under the stars.

She pairs her jacket with slightly baggy black shorts, detailed with gold buttons.

A unique belt with metallic gold highlights runs through her shorts, and a blue strap hangs from her shorts, displaying her name "Cheval Grand." Completing her robust look, she wears knee-high black socks with white stripes and sleek, modern white shoes with strap designs.

Verxina - Elder sister. They share similar adversities in their racing careers, despite taking different routes in their classic years.

Because Verxina took the Tiara route and not the Crown route like Cheval, she struggles to help her and give her advice like she does with Vivlos, though she admires the strength Cheval has inside.

Cheval feels frustration towards her and Vivlos internally, because she feels weak compared to both of them.

Vivlos - Younger sister. Despite their relationship being a bit rocky, both of them still care for each other.

Vivlos looks out for Cheval Grand while also teasing her from time to time, while Cheval Grand supports Vivlos' races.

Cheval however feels inferior to Vivlos, as her alongside Verxina have always gotten more attention in racing ability compared to her, and she feels like Vivlos is stronger than her.

While Cheval keeps her distance from her at times, deep down she truly cares for Vivlos.

IRL, Verxina, Cheval Grand, and Vivlos are all foaled by Halwa Sweet.

Verxina and Vivlos are both sired by Deep Impact, whereas Cheval Grand was sired by Heart's Cry.

Win Variation - Roommate. They both bond over their struggles against their rivals, and get along well.

IRL, Win Variation and Cheval Grand were both sired by Heart's Cry.

In addition to both being unable to best their rivals - Orfevre and Kitasan Black respectively.

However, Cheval Grand ultimately won against Kitasan Black in a race, which Win Variation never did against Orfevre.

Kitasan Black - Friend and rival. Kitasan Black is a source of envy for Cheval Grand, as Kitasan Black is a more open and cheerful individual, it is in deep contrast with Cheval's more reserved and pessimistic personality.

Satono Crown - Friend and rival. While Cheval struggles with herself, Crown reassures her, and tells her that it's okay that she is different from her sisters.

She sees the strength that Cheval has deep down, and they both get along well.

They also train together from time to time.

Satono Diamond - Friend.

During the 1st Anniversary PakaLive TV stream on February 22nd, 2022, her character design was shown, but her name was concealed as ???.

Her name wasn't revealed until November 5th, 2022.

Cheval Grand was known to hold onto her cap to calm down whenever she feels anxious, which has become a muscle memory.

In fact, this was shown in her summer alt's ultimate animation, where she became flustered and tried to hold onto the cap she wasn't wearing at the time, becoming more agitated as a result.

Before races, she holds onto her "cap" while she is idle.

Character Design Notes from Umamusume: Pretty Derby Artworks Vol.04:

As Cheval Grand shares the letter V in their name with her sisters Verxina and Vivlos, the letter V is sprinkled in as a motif on her accessories.

As only the right foreleg of the motif horse has a white marking, she wears a white glove on her right hand, while she has no glove on her left.

Given the Umamusume Cheval Grand's dream of "spreading her wings into the world", she wears a big, wing like cape.

In her career story, she has a childhood friend named Shine Praise who goes to Australia during her senior year, but gets injured while she is there.

This Umamusume is a reference to the real horse Admire Deus, who was a year older than Cheval Grand and raced with him in the Hanshin Daishoten.

In 2017, he was transferred to Australia, where he suffered a catastrophic injury and passed away on November 25th, 2017.

She admires a certain Umamusume who beat an undefeated Triple Crown winner in the Arima Kinen, and looks up to her as an underdog.

Meanwhile, her sisters admire the "hero" Triple Crown Umamusume.

The underdog Umamusume that Cheval admires is based on Heart's Cry, a horse who beat Deep Impact, the undefeated Triple Crown winner of 2005, in the Arima Kinen in that same year.

Heart's Cry is the sire of Cheval Grand, while Deep Impact is the sire of both Verxina and Vivlos.

She likes to watch fishing videos.

She prefers salty mochi in contrast with her sisters who like sweet mochi.

Her love for baseball is a reference to the real life Cheval Grand, in which his owner, Kazuhiro Sasaki, is a former professional baseball relief pitcher.