Umamumusume: Cinderella Gray 2nd Cour introduces the international racers who raced against the real-life Oguri Cap. American racehorse Obey Your Master recently became the rising star of the season. By winning the international Japan Cup (1988), she realized her potential to become a successful athlete. Episodes 16-18 presented the best of Pay the Butler’s Umamusume reincarnation as the Joker of the Turf.
Obey Your Master’s History Reference
In Episode 18, Obey Your Master is depicted as the American underdog who struggles in Grade 1 (G1) turf tracks. According to her real-life record, Pay the Butler performed well in Grade 3 (G3) and Grade 2 (G2) races. His reputation in G1 races showed mixed results. He placed 12th in the Arlington Million (1989), which was the worst G1 race of his career.
Her trainer, Robert J. Frankel (nicknamed Bobby), believed that her racing style would be better suited to overseas tracks. His training history showed he had an eye for spotting talented horses, no matter how much they were sold for. His Umamusume counterpart recognized that Obey Your Master ran best on 2400-meter tracks, the distance of the Japan Cup. Because of Frankel’s determination, Pay the Butler became an international G1 winner on November 27, 1988.
The stallion also earned US Jockey Chris McCarron an Eclipse award for Top Apprentice Jockey. On the same day, he surpassed the top three favorites: Tony Bin (Toni Bianca in Cinderella Gray), Tamamo Cross, and Oguri Cap. Pay the Butler’s upset win cost gamblers a $2 million USD ($5,477,193.58 USD in 2025).
Wearing a Mask Out of Spite and Deception
Obey Your Master is presented as an abnormal blonde with high perception. She made her first impression at the end of Episode 16. Oguri’s current trainer, Musaka, sent Belno Light to gather data on the international racers. She disguised herself as a human journalist, interviewing everyone except for Obey Your Master.
Belno found her napping face down in an open park. Unfortunately, the American underdog saw through her ruse, and she gave little information about her running style. Viewers grasped more about Obey Your Master’s personality in her hotel room. Almost all the walls were covered with newspaper clippings and photos of the Japan Cup participants. And on her desk was a recording of Tamamo Cross’s Autumn Tenno Sho run.
Episode 18 revealed that this side of her was not her true personality. Back in the US, Obey Your Master had a reserved nature and carried a silent temper. Yet she continued to be observant. Her wild side, or “The Mask,” is inspired by an unnamed US rival who shared the same, blue-starred eyes. Other trainers considered her weak, while her rival believes she should put more effort into researching other Umamusume.
“The Mask” represents her spite of being a non-G1 racehorse. At the same time, it became Obey Your Master’s defining trait. Opponents mistook her for a gleeful Uma, who is overly friendly. She conducted secret solo training sessions so no one would detect her running techniques. Even Musaka grew frustrated, worried her training tapes gave false hope regarding Oguri’s stayer strategy.
Becoming an International G1 Winner
The Japan Cup demonstrated how the European and American racehorses are trained in Episode 17. Unlike the Japanese Umamusume, they will use rough play to drain their opponent’s stamina. The duel between Michelle My Baby (My Big Boy IRL) and Oguri Cap showed that a horse will struggle if they focus on defending themselves over crossing first at the finish line. It also made a meme with the Gray Monster unable to understand the American Giant’s English.
Thanks to Musaka’s advice, Oguri decided to withdraw and switch back to her iconic, later-running style. Meanwhile, Tamamo Cross decided to be an end closer until around the track’s 3rd corner. Viewers witnessed that Obey Your Master does not use her body to harm her opponents. Instead, she delivers polite trash talk: “Long time no see! You sure went far out to get here. You hanging in there, okay? How ‘bout we run together?”
This forced Tamamo to quicken her pace instead of staying near the Joker of the Turf. In Pretty Derby, this technique is known as Flustering, which messes with an Umamusume’s pacing. Then, in Episode 18, Obey Your Master battles the White Lightning for first place in the Zone. Her frightening gaze startled the ashen horse as she entered her final spurt.
Their presence aggravated Toni, who dashed to protect her international title. However, she fractured her left foot and retreated to the mid-pack. Obey Your Master pulled one final strategy that almost led to her disqualification. She steered slightly across the track near Tamamo to where she wasn’t swerving off the course. Her intelligence shone as she explained that staying near the Japanese Ace would mess with her pacing and force her to lose concentration.
In the home stretch, the Joker of the Turf successfully left her mark on Japan. The American underdog fooled and defeated the world’s best Umamusume. And surprisingly, Obey Your Master stayed humble. She thanked Tamamo for giving her the challenge by showing her true side, even entrusting her to keep it a secret. Cygames Pictures hints at her return in the after-Japan Cup interview.
Pay the Butler in the Anime Life
Obey Your Master was probably one of the hardest racehorse adaptations to assemble in the entire franchise to date. If you try to find information about Pay the Butler, he didn’t have any memorable wins beyond the Japan Cup (1988). Neither did he live very long to see his daughter, Pal Bright. She became a brooding mare who produced many Japanese racehorses, including Fuji Kiseki, Special Week, and Marvelous Sunday.
Cygames Pictures also didn’t have permission from the Kentucky Derby to use his name. Instead, they analyzed his racing footage and his known legacy from the United States to create his Umamusume image. The team did a fantastic job of making Obey Your Master an intimidating genius. For now, Cinderella Gray fans await her second Japan Cup race.
