IRL:T.M. Opera O

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T.M. Opera O
テイエムオペラオー
Main
T.M. Opera O at the 2000 Tenno Sho (Spring)
Silks
Romaji	Tei Emu Opera Ō
Foaled	March 13, 1996
Died	May 17, 2018
Sire	Opera House
Dam	Once Wed
Sex	Stallion
Color	Chestnut
Trainer	Ichizo Iwamoto
Race Record	26: 14-6-3
Earnings	1,835,180,000 JPY
Major wins
Satsuki Sho (1999) Tenno Sho (Spring) (2000, 2001) Takarazuka Kinen (2000) Tenno Sho (Autumn) (2000) Japan Cup (2000) Arima Kinen (2000)

Let's Dream

Let's Dream

2000, Arima Kinen.
If you keep winning, all other horses become your rivals.
That horse was completely surrounded.
The path to victory should have disappeared.
T.M Opera O...what drove you to run?
People see dreams because of your battle.
Then, let's dream.
JRA The LEGEND CM

T.M. Opera O was a Japanese racehorse that was active from 1998 to 2001. In the 1999 Classic Triple Crown campaign, he formed the 'Big Three' alongside Admire Vega and Narita Top Road, winning the first leg of the Triple Crown, the Satsuki Sho.

In 2000, he dominated the season as the undisputed top horse, winning all eight races he contested, including the Takarazuka Kinen, Tenno Sho Sweep (Winning both Spring and Autumn races), Japan Cup, and Arima Kinen. He achieved the record for most Grade I wins in a single year with five victories, earning unanimous selection as Horse of the Year and Outstanding Older Horse.

In 2001, he defended his Spring Tenno Sho title, tying the then-record for most Grade I victories at seven. Active at the close of the 20th century, he was dubbed the "The Overlord of Century's End". He was inducted into the Japan Racing Association Hall of Fame in 2004.

He was also the first horse to achieve the Senior Autumn Triple Crown in a single year. So far, the only horses to perform this feat are T.M. Opera O and Zenno Rob Roy.

Name Origin

T.M. is the crown name of his owner, Masatsugu Takezono. Opera comes from his father, Opera House. O means king in Japanese.

Racing career

Two-year-old and three-year-old season (1998-1999)

On August 15th, T.M. Opera O made his debut in a 1,600-meter turf race at Kyoto Racecourse. Thanks to strong training performances, he was supported as the favorite with odds of 1.5. However, in the final stretch of the race, he was pulled away by the second favorite, Classic Stage, finishing six lengths behind in second place. After this loss, T.M. Opera O suffered a mild fracture in his right lower leg. T.M. Opera O sat out the remainder of 1998, missing the registrations for the Classic races for 1999.

At the start of 1999, he returned to race in Kyoto two more times, winning on February 6th against Himino Commander. His team, however, wanted him to enter the Classic races that year, especially after T.M. Opera O's win at his graded stakes debut in the Mainichi Hai (G3), where he was the third betting favorite and captured his first graded win, besting Tagano Brian by four lengths. This victory was also significant as it was the first graded stakes win for a progeny of Opera House.

The Satsuki Sho

T.M. Opera O's owner, Masatsugu Takezono, paid the fee to register him into the classics under the "Oguri Cap System". He chose to believe in Opera O's potential after much persuasion from his trainer, Ichizo Iwamoto, who also agreed to pay half of the hefty 2 million Yen fee. The original plan was to train Opera O to compete in the Derby; this would mean missing the Satsuki Sho. However, a few days after the Mainichi Hai, Tsutomu Setoguchi, the trainer of Oguri Cap, phoned T.M. Opera O's ranch and relayed a message that they should take advantage of the "Oguri Cap System" and enter Opera O, as he remarked that "there hasn't been a horse that won the Mainichi Hai that dominantly."This helped convince Takezono to enter Opera O into the Satsuki Sho.

And from there, on the rainy day of 18th of April 1999, T.M. Opera O raced against the day's favorite, Admire Vega, as well as the second favorite of the race, Narita Top Road. T.M. Opera O, seen as lacking in experience against top-class competition, went off as the fifth favorite. At the start, Narita Top Road settled in mid-pack, Admire Vega at the rear, and T.M. Opera O even further behind. By the third corner, as the front-runners began to be challenged, T.M. Opera O was still lagging behind. Takezono remembered exclaiming, "Ah, it's no good... We've lost." However, in the final 100 meters of the straight, T.M. Opera O unleashed a powerful late surge, overtaking the leader at the very last moment to win by a neck, a photo finish against Osumi Bright, winning his first GI victory. Narita Top Road finished third, with Admire Vega ending up in sixth. This also marked a major victory for T.M. Opera O's jockey, Ryuji Wada, as this would make him the youngest jockey to win the Satsuki Sho. Moreover, this would also mark T.M. Opera O as the first late-registered horse under the "Oguri Cap system" to seize a win at the Classics. Wada remarked after the race, “I trusted the 'closing kick' he showed in the Mainichi Hai and took my time, betting everything on a stretch run—that turned out to be the right choice. During the race, I just focused on not drifting wide and planned to gradually move forwards, so it went almost exactly as I imagined.” Iwamoto praised T.M. Opera O as well, saying, “At the finish it looked like he wouldn’t make it, but he really ran well.”

The Japanese Derby

Coming off the back of the win at the Satsuki Sho, T.M. Opera O ran in the Japanese Derby on June 6, aiming for the second part of the Triple Crown. On the day of the race, Narita Top Road was the favorite with win odds of 3.9 to 1, while Admire Vega, expected to rebound from his Satsuki Sho defeat, was the second favorite at the same 3.9 to 1 odds. T.M. Opera O was coming into the race as the third favorite at 4.4 to 1.

The race unfolded with a long, vertical formation, in which T.M. Opera O traveled in 8th position, Narita Top Road in 10th, and Admire Vega in 15th at the rear. On the third corner, T.M. Opera O moved up ahead of the other two and reached the front group. He briefly took the lead midway through the final straight but was quickly overtaken by Narita Top Road. Then, Admire Vega, who came charging from far behind, swept past them both just before the finish to claim victory.

Following the loss, Wada explained his uncharacteristic early move: "There was a horse in front that was unsteady, and I didn't want to get stuck behind it. I also knew Narita (Top Road) was coming in with tremendous momentum, so even though I thought it was early, I had no choice but to go then. It’s frustrating to lose, but considering how tough the race was, he really did great.” On the other hand, he also stated, "There wasn't a single moment when I thought we could win," and "Even without making an early spurt, we might have finished third." Takezono, later revealed in an interview, “In the end, I was happy he won [the Satsuki Sho], and I don’t intend to blame Iwamoto, but… sometimes I can’t help thinking that if we hadn’t run in the Satsuki Sho then, maybe we could have won the Derby.” According to announcer Kiyoshi Sugimoto, trainer Iwamoto seemed satisfied with the third-place result, saying, “It can’t be helped... It’s the Derby. The horse had already passed his peak.”

After the Derby, T.M. Opera O was sent to the Kabari Cooperative Training Center in Hokkaido to recuperate and returned to the stable in September. Training then proceeded with the final leg of the Triple Crown, the Kikuka Sho, as the target. For his prep race, his team considered two options: the Kyoto Daishoten, which would pit him against older horses for the first time, or the Kyoto Shimbun Hai, a week later. Due to T.M. Opera O's tendency to lose his appetite easily, they chose the Kyoto Daishoten, which would allow more time for adjustment before the Kikuka Sho.

Entering the race were strong contenders, such as Special Week, winner of the previous year’s Derby and that year’s Tenno Sho (Spring), and Mejiro Bright, the previous year’s Tenno Sho (Spring) winner. T.M. Opera O was sent off as the third favorite. In the race, he lost his running path in the final stretch. After being forced to shift to the inside, he chased the leader, Tsurumaru Tsuyoshi, but could not catch him or Mejiro Bright and finished third.

The Kikuka Sho

After the Kyoto Daishoten, the feared loss of appetite did not manifest, and he went into the Kikuka Sho on November 3rd in near-perfect condition, trodding in as the second favourite. On that day, T.M. Opera O would once again meet Admire Vega, who, coming off a win in the Kyoto Shimbun Hai, was the favorite. Narita Top Road would also be running as the third favorite, as well as Rascal Suzuka as the fourth.

The race developed at a very slow pace: 1:04.3 for the first 1,000 meters and 2:08.4 at the 2000-meter mark. Narita Top Road positioned himself near the front, while Admire Vega and T.M. Opera O traveled together in mid-to-rear positions around 10th–11th. However, at the final corner of the second lap, Narita Top Road moved up to challenge for the lead. T.M. Opera O chased hard in the stretch but finished second, a neck behind the already-escaped Narita Top Road. Admire Vega, unable to accelerate, finished sixth.

T.M. Opera O’s final 3 furlongs time of 33.8 seconds was the fastest among all runners. Jockey Wada commented, “Maybe I should have closed the gap a bit on the backstretch. Still, I thought he’d have enough to hold them off… I don’t think it was a case of being outclassed.” In Wada's post-race comments, his primary intention was to conserve energy and unleash the horse's "finishing kick". He also mentioned that before the race, he had envisaged the race strategy adopted by Kunihiko Watanabe on Narita Top Road. After the race, Wada’s riding came under criticism for “moving too late.” Following what owner Takezono saw as Wada’s second riding mistake after his “early move” in the Japanese Derby, he became furious and demanded trainer Iwamoto to replace Wada as a jockey. Iwamoto asked for the decision to be postponed, but Takezono remained adamant. In the end, however, he relented, and Wada remained T.M. Opera O’s rider. It is said that Iwamoto even told Takezono that if Wada were to be removed, he would take T.M. Opera O to another stable. After this incident, Takezono never again requested a jockey change. Wada reportedly only learned of this interaction many years later.

Consecutive Races to the End of the year

Takezono considered either entering him in the Arima Kinen, or giving T.M. Opera O a break till the next year. Iwamoto, however, wanting to 'instill a winning habit' in the horse and Wada, chose the Stayer's Stakes on December 4th.

Entering the race, T.M. Opera O was an overwhelming favorite, but in the home stretch, he was out-ran by Painted Black, who had not even been a major contender in the triple crown races. In the end, T.M. Opera O finished second.

After this, Iwamoto considered giving the horse the rest of the year off, but this time Takezono wanted to run in the Arima Kinen. Feeling indebted to Takezono for having granted his requests since the Kikuka Sho, Iwamoto accepted this, and T.M. Opera O thus prepared to contest the race.

On race day, Grass Wonder, with three GI victories, was the favorite, while Special Week, having recovered from the Kyoto Daishoten and won both the Autumn Tenno Sho and Japan Cup consecutively, was the second favorite. This race was framed as a clash between these two "big rivals". Narita Top Road was the fourth favorite at 6.8 to 1 odds, while TM Opera O was the fifth, favored at 12 to 1 odds.

When the race commenced, the late-running Going Suzuka unexpectedly took the lead, setting an extremely slow pace of 65.2 seconds for the first 1000 metres. T.M. Opera O settled in fifth position in the front, while the other contenders all positioned themselves mid-pack or farther back.

In the final straight, TM Opera O took the lead but was immediately challenged by Grass Wonder and Special Week, who came blasting from behind in a duel, battling for the front. Both horses overtook him just before the finish line, with Grass Wonder winning by a nose and T.M. Opera O finishing third, a head behind the runner-up.

"It might have been good that I was motivated by the belief that the tide was turning for our generation..."

- Ryuji Wada, after winning the Satsuki Sho

Unfortunately, since the Satsuki Sho, T.M. Opera O had not managed to win another race, yet when the year-end awards came around, he was still named JRA’s Best 4-Year-Old Colt. The evaluation stated: “In the Classics he formed a ‘Big Three’ with Admire Vega and Narita Top Road, and among them he produced the most consistent results. In the year-end Arima Kinen, he nearly staged an upset, finishing third in the same time as Grass Wonder and Special Week, strongly showcasing his abilites.” In the JPN Classifications, which ranks horses based on hypothetical weight assignments, he was also rated 119 pounds, the highest among 3-year-olds.

As for the major horses he faced that year, Special Week retired as planned after the Arima Kinen, and Admire Vega entered long-term rest after the Kikuka Sho and ultimately retired in the summer of 2000 without returning to racing.

Though owner Takezono initially doubted Wada's synergy with T.M. Opera O, the following year would prove to completely shatter these doubts. Entering the new year, Wada would continue to ride the horse all the way into retirement. Following an undefeated streak during the 2000 racing season, T.M. Opera O earned the nickname, "The Conqueror Of The Century's End."

According to Number Web, in the 1999 Derby, T.M. Opera O was not yet the “霸王 (conquering king)” he would soon become, but his 'challenger’s spirit' and his youthful, spirited run left a powerful impression.

The Undefeated Season (Four-year-old season, 2000)

T.M. Opera O’s 2000 season is legendary in Japanese horse racing history, marked by an undefeated run through all eight of his races and an unprecedented sweep of major Grade I titles, cementing himself as one of the greatest Thoroughbreds in Japanese turf history. At the JRA Awards ceremony in January 2000, T.M. Opera O’s owner, Takezono, spoke to his team gathered around the table, rallying them with the words, “Since we've received such an award, we can’t afford to lose even once this year. We won’t enter him in any race he might lose. This year, we’re going to win them all.” His victories included five domestic Grade I wins: the Tenno Sho (Spring and Autumn), Takarazuka Kinen, the Japan Cup, and the Arima Kinen, plus major victories in the Hanshin Daishoten, Kyoto Daishoten and Kyoto Kinen. He also became the first horse to win five Grade I races in a single year. His campaign was remarkable for consistently besting his peers like Meisho Doto and Narita Top Road, and for dramatic finishes, squeezing through narrow gaps in the stretch to come out on top against all odds. At the year’s end, T.M. Opera O was unanimously selected as Horse of the Year. This selection marked only the third time in history this has happened, following Ten Point (1977) and Symboli Rudolf (1985). Additionally, his trainer, Ichizo Iwamoto, secured the title of trainer with the highest annual earnings, setting a record of ¥1,508,378,000.

The Spring Season

For his first race of 2000, the Kyoto Kinen on the 20th of February, Narita Top Road also ran in this race. In the final stretch, he won by a neck after a duel with Narita Top Road, earning his first victory since the Satsuki Sho.

T.M. Opera O would challenge the Hanshin Daishoten next, alongside Rascal Suzuka, who had secured third place in the Kikuka Sho, and Narita Top Road. As the race entered the final stretch, T.M. Opera O decisively pulled ahead of both horses, claiming victory by two lengths over Rascal Suzuka. Throughout the race, he maintained a position ahead of his main rivals and unleashed the quickest finishing sprint of all participants in the closing stretch to clutch the victory.

“Hooray, Wada! The summit of the Top Three is me! What he is singing is the Shield song! T.M. Opera O!”
- Kiyoshi Sugimoto, Kansai TV commentary in the 2000 Tenno Sho (Spring)

Next, T.M. Opera O would enter the Tenno Sho (Spring), which had been his major spring target. He would once again face Rascal Suzuka and Narita Top Road. T.M. Opera O positioned himself in the middle of the pack, with Narita Top Road ahead and Rascal Suzuka trailing behind. Approaching the third corner, he advanced to catch Narita Top Road and then broke away, maintaining a lead to finish three-quarters of a length ahead of Rascal Suzuka. His finishing time of 3 minutes and 17.6 seconds was the fourth fastest in history at that time, with his final 200 meters completed in 11.9 seconds—the quickest ever recorded up to that point. The racing publication "Weekly Gallop" remarked that “T.M. Opera O showcased his genuine talent by conquering this demanding test of speed.”

After this victory, T.M. Opera O ended the “Strongest Three” era and firmly established himself as the undisputed powerhouse of Japanese racing. With the domestic competition left behind, only the foreign-bred champion Grass Wonder remained as a credible rival. In the fan voting for the upcoming Takarazuka Kinen on June 25th, T.M. Opera O earned the top spot, reflecting his immense popularity and respect among racing fans. On race day, he was set as the 1.9-to-1 favorite, with Grass Wonder close behind at 2.8-to-1, setting the stage for a highly anticipated showdown between the two stars at the time.

Although the track was officially rated “firm,” rain began to fall an hour before post time, turning the much-anticipated race into a damp, gritty battle. When the gates opened, T.M. Opera O settled comfortably behind the leading pack, while Grass Wonder bided his time mid-field. As they came around the final two turns, Grass Wonder loomed just behind Opera O, his jockey Masayoshi Ebina holding him steady, while Ryuji Wada urged his mount wide and forward around the outside.

But as they straightened for home, Grass Wonder failed to respond, his challenge fading in the rain. T.M. Opera O, displaying his power and composure, powered after the leaders, catching front-runner Meisho Doto in the final moments to win by a neck. The victory extended his GI streak, confirming his supremacy and marking yet another triumph in a season of perfection.

After the race, Wada remarked, "It was nail-biting towards the end, but he gave his all. He felt tougher going than last time out, but I knew he'd surely find his stride. He has a tendency to ease off when pulling clear late, so I just made sure he didn't relax. It reaffirmed how strong he is." Iwamoto added, "His feel going into the third corner made me think, 'This is bad, we might lose today,' but when we drew level on the straight, I felt we could manage... Once we were level, he's a horse who fights hard." Both jockeys mentioned the poor response at the third corner, but stable staffer Masaya Haraguchi reflected that T.M. Opera O generally has that tendency, stating, "Though Grass Wonder seemed different, I wasn't worried because he was running in tandem with us." Meanwhile, Grass Wonder, who finished sixth, was dismounted by jockey Ebina on the track after the race and transported away. He was later diagnosed with a fracture of the left third metacarpal bone (or 'cannon bone'), unfortunately ending his career.

After the Takarazuka Kinen, T.M. Opera O was sent to the Kabari Cooperative Training Center, just as he had been the previous summer, where he entered a period of rest while continuing light work on-site, despite the demanding spring campaign. This was a sign of how little the long spring campaign had taken out of him, as he was back under saddle as early as the day after arrival, underlining just how well he had come out of his series of big races.

The Autumn Season

For autumn, the original plan was to skip a prep race and head straight into the Tenno Sho (Autumn), where he would aim to complete the spring–autumn double. However, when owner Takezono visited to inspect the horse, he found Opera O in fantastic shape. Determined not to “break the horse’s rhythm when he’s eager to run,” opted to send him to the Kyoto Daishoten as a prep instead. Narita Top Road’s trainer, Yoshio Oki, who had been preparing his colt specifically for this race, openly declared, “If we’re ever going to beat that horse, this is the time.” the two rivals hooked up in a head-to-head duel; while Watanabe was forced to drive Narita Top Road hard with repeated use of the whip, Wada never so much as raised his, and T.M. Opera O prevailed by a head.

Next, on October 29th, T.M. Opera O entered the Tenno Sho (Autumn) amidst widespread speculation that it could be the race where the horse finally faltered, fueled by a notorious jinx: for 12 consecutive years, the race’s favorite had failed to win. Media outlets amplified this superstition, while some observers noted the 2,000-meter distance, identical to the Satsuki Sho, might prove too short for the champion, pushing his odds to a relatively high 2.4 times. The Second favorite Meisho Doto, fresh off a win in the All-Comer, had 4.4 times support, followed by Narita Top Road at 4.9.

Once the gates opened, Opera O pressed inward on Eagle Café going into the first turn, a move that in turn caused Stay Gold to be squeezed and lose position. After the field settled, the race unfolded at an even tempo, with Opera O traveling comfortably in the second group, tracking Meisho Doto just ahead of him. The pack settled into an even pace through the corners, with T.M. Opera O tracking just behind Meisho Doto in mid-pack. In the final stretch, Tunante briefly surged ahead before Meisho Doto overtook him, only for T.M. Opera O swept past both rivals with an authoritative burst, crossing the line in two and a half lengths clear for the win. For jockey Wada, the victory carried extra weight, as this was his 68th attempt there.

T.M. Opera O etched his name in history by becoming just the third horse, after Tamamo Cross in 1988 and Special Week in 1999, to sweep both the spring and autumn Tenno Sho in the same year. Moreover, since the introduction of the graded stakes system in 1984, he became the first to conquer Grade 1 races at all four JRA major racecourses: Tokyo, Nakayama, Kyoto, and Hanshin.

Jockey Wada reflected on the achievement, saying, “People kept talking about the favorite never winning and about how I’d never win at Tokyo, but we broke through that barrier with a perfect performance.” Trainer Akio Iwamoto added, “The jinx of the favorite losing and Wada having never won at Tokyo were both on my mind, but once it was over, all I could feel was just how incredible this horse truly is.”

T.M. Opera O at the Japan Cup, 2000

Next up in the November 26 Japan Cup, an international invitational race, T.M. Opera O faced a formidable opponents that included five foreign challengers. Among them were Fantastic Light, winner of that year's Man o' War Stakes and runner-up in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, and the 10-year-old veteran John's Call, who had captured two Grade 1 victories in America that season. The domestic competition was equally impressive, featuring Air Shakur, the double Crown winner from the 2000 generation and third betting choice, alongside Japanese Derby champion Agnes Flight as the fourth favorite.

The Japan Cup carried an even heavier “jinx” than the Tenno Sho: the favorite had gone winless for 14 consecutive runnings. Nevertheless, T.M. Opera O was backed with unprecedented confidence. His final win odds were 1.5, and his support rate reached an astonishing 50.5 percent, surpassing the record previously held by Mejiro McQueen in 1991. Although Fantastic Light secured the role of second favorite, much of the buildup centered on the challenge posed by the two rising Classic stars.

The race unfolded at a crawling pace with no front-runner willing to take the lead, the first 1000 meters clocking a pedestrian 63.3 seconds as horses jostled for position. T.M. Opera O settled in fifth or sixth place before making his bid. In the stretch, Meisho Doto seized the advantage, with Fantastic Light mounting a late rally from the back. But in a dramatic finish, T.M. Opera O dug in and wore down Meisho Doto in the final strides, prevailing by a neck to claim victory and finally breaking the hex of the favorite's losing streak in the race. T.M. Opera O had shut down the highly anticipated clash with the younger Classic champions as well, both Air Shakur and Agnes Flight finished a distant 13th and 14th, respectively.

"He’s crazy strong... World class."

- Frankie Dettori, jockey of Fantastic Light in the race

This victory pushed TM Opera O's career earnings past ¥1.2 billion, surpassing the previous record holder Special Week to become the "World's Highest-Earning Horse". T.M. Opera O's performance in this race got him high international acclaim, receiving a Racing Post Rating of 126.

The Grand Slam

Having took the Spring and Autumn Tenno Sho, the Takarazuka Kinen, and the Japan Cup, T.M. Opera O stood on the precipice of an unprecedented achievement: a complete sweep of Japan's major older horse middle-distance Grade 1 races. Only the year-end Arima Kinen remained between the champion and a feat never before accomplished.

However, the path to history proved treacherous. During the Japan Cup, T.M. Opera O suffered contact with another horse, sustaining an external injury to his right hind thigh that delayed his preparation for the Arima Kinen. His training sessions during the interim period fell short of his usual sharp form, raising concerns about his readiness.

Then came a startling setback on the morning of the Arima Kinen itself. While stabled at Nakayama Racecourse, a horse in the opposite stall suddenly reared up on its hind legs in fright after being startled at some disturbance. The commotion frightened T.M. Opera O, who reacted similarly and struck his forehead hard against an unseen part of his stall. The impact caused significant swelling from internal bleeding. Despite the alarming injury however, track veterinarians cleared the horse to run. Trainer Iwamoto accepted their judgment, and the decision was made: T.M. Opera O would take his chances in the Arima Kinen as scheduled, attempting to complete his historic sweep under far from ideal circumstances.

T.M. Opera O topped the Arima Kinen fan voting with a commanding 109,140 votes, securing his berth as the people's champion. Come race day, the betting public made their faith clear, with 1.7 to 1 odds. Before the race, owner Takezono gave Wada a simple but commanding order in the paddock: “Get a good start, settle in third or fourth, stay patient, and win by at least two lengths down the stretch.”

Little did they know, however. Other jockeys have collectively agreed that they will completely block T.M. Opera O's way in an attempt to not let him claim his last victory in the same year.

The early running unfolded according to plan; Opera O broke alertly and took position. But racing is rarely so accommodating. Rounding the first turn at the third furlong, traffic tightened. Boxed in and shuffled back, the favorite found himself 12th, perhaps 13th, swallowed by the pack. As the field swept past the grandstand, the pace crawled, and T.M. Opera O remained trapped in the scrum. Meisho Doto, the second favorite, and Narita Top Road, the third favorite, raced comfortably ahead.

Turning for home, the favorite still hadn't found daylight—tenth or worse, and a collective gasp rose from the stands. Then, mid-stretch, the wall cracked. Seams appeared in the bunched field. Wada asked, and Opera O responded, and the response was lightning. The horse surged through with characteristic precision. In a blur of motion, he devoured the front-runners, caught the longshot Daiwa Texas, and locked himself a stretch duel that had the crowd roaring. At the wire: T.M. Opera O by a nose.

With that win, T.M. Opera O achieved what no other horse in Japanese racing history had done before: a complete sweep of the major open-class middle-to-long-distance titles, becoming the first to capture the Autumn Triple Crown: the Autumn Tenno Sho, Japan Cup, and Arima Kinen in the same year. The feat earned his connections a ¥200 million special bonus and cemented his legacy as the dominant racehorse of his era.

After the race, jockey Ryuji Wada reflected on the harrowing trip: “I wanted to secure a forward position, but I got squeezed at the first corner… I thought I’d made a mistake. I was trapped with no room to move, yet I didn’t want to swing wide either. At that point, my only option was to shoot through any opening that appeared. If it closed, that would have been the end. In the stretch, there was a gap just one horse wide, and Opera O went into it without hesitation. Even when Meisho Doto came back at us, my horse still had more momentum. It was a punishing race, but in the end he won in a way that proved he was in a different class entirely.”

Trainer Iwamoto admitted the situation unfolded exactly as he had feared, and was equally shaken: “It turned into the toughest scenario. Honestly, it wouldn’t have been surprising if he had lost. Given how things played out, I can only say he did incredibly well to win. He’s simply an extraordinary horse.”

Owner Takezono also voiced frustration about the intense pressure from other horses: "Both the horse and jockey were pitiful. I thought, why do they have to be bullied like this? (...) It was truly heartbreaking enough to bring tears to my eyes. (...) Honestly, until we broke free, I was so sad I felt like crying, but once we broke free, it was pure ecstasy."

Yasuhiko Yasuda, rider of beaten rival Meisho Doto, confessed to reporters: “Right now, I don’t want to race against that horse (T.M. Opera O) again.”

Veteran commentator Yuji Nohira, who had praised T.M. Opera O since the Satsuki Sho as “the only horse running European-style races,” elevated his assessment: “I’ve never seen a horse produce such an incredible performance. At this point, if someone says he’s surpassed Symboli Rudolf, I won’t argue.”

The 2000 Arima Kinen would be remembered as the definitive example of a dominant favorite surviving a deliberate siege, what would come to be known as the "T.M. Opera O Blockade" The ride was so remarkable that in 2013, the JRA officially commemorated the so-called "encirclement" in their THE LEGEND commercial series, enshrining it as one of racing's great escapes.

Years later, the verdict remains unanimous. In 2023, Sports Graphic Number magazine tracked down the jockeys who'd ridden in that fateful Arima Kinen for a retrospective feature titled "The T.M. Opera Containment Strategy: Through the Eyes of the Jockeys." Masayoshi Ebina, who'd piloted front-runner Daiwa Texas that day, laid out the cold calculus that had governed the race: "Everyone knew Opera was the strongest. When I saw where he was positioned, it looked like he was in trouble, so I made my move to steal it. When a horse wins that consistently, he becomes a target. Every other rider was thinking the same thing."

But perhaps the most telling moment came at the end of the interviews, when the reporter posed a hypothetical: "If you could re-ride that Arima Kinen, do you believe you could beat him?"

Not a single jockey nodded yes.

When the dust settled on 2000, T.M. Opera O's record read like something out of fantasy: 8 starts, 8 wins, 5 Grade 1 victories among them. His G1 haul alone rewrote the record books, surpassing the marks set by legends Symboli Rudolf and Narita Brian. His eight consecutive graded stakes victories tied Taiki Shuttle's existing record. And while his eight straight wins as the betting favorite matched achievements by Takeshiba O, Maruzensky, and Max Beauty, T.M. Opera stood alone he was the first to accomplish the feat exclusively in graded company. The racing press reached for grandiose language to match the achievement. Yushun magazine's annual TURF HERO yearbook christened the campaign "Chronicle of the Millennium's Final Champion." Weekly Gallop opened its year-end issue with a centerfold splash captioned simply: "Advent of the Millennium's Supreme Ruler." Owner Takezono had reason to celebrate beyond his stable star. Combined with his filly Teio Ocean's victory in the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies, his stable collected six Grade 1 wins for the year; shattering the previous record of four, jointly held by Symboli Farm, Shadai Racehorse, and breeder Hidenori Yamaji. In that year’s JRA Awards, T.M. Opera O was unanimously voted Horse of the Year—only the third horse in history to earn the honor by a perfect vote, following Ten Point (1977) and Symboli Rudolf (1985). Trainer Yuji Iwamoto also captured the title of Leading Money-Earning Trainer, earning a record ¥1,508,378,000 in prize money, roughly two-thirds of coming from T.M. Opera O.

Some horses win. T.M. Opera O refused to lose.

Five-year-old season (2001)

Entering the 2001 season, concerns grew that T.M. Opera O was carrying fatigue from the previous year’s intense campaign. Trainer Iwamoto also judged that Hokkaido would be too cold for winter rest, so instead of sending the horse to the usual Kabari Center, he opted for the JRA Equine Research Institute’s Iwaki branch in Fukushima Prefecture, a facility known as the “horse spa” for its therapeutic hot-spring baths. Iwamoto expected the combination of hot-spring therapy and light exercise on the training track to help the horse recover smoothly. However, that winter brought heavy snow to Iwaki, leaving T.M. Opera O unable to leave his stall for most of the period. At the same time, his normally light appetite improved dramatically, and he returned to the Ritto Training Center noticeably overweight. Initially, the plan had been to return in the Hanshin Daishoten in March, but with his conditioning progressing slowly, his comeback was pushed back to the Osaka Hai on April 1st. In the final workouts, he appeared to lose focus at times, prompting some to say he did not look like his usual self. In the paddock before the race, he was unusually calm—so calm, in fact, that he could have been led with a single shank instead of the usual two held by Haraguchi. Jockey Ryuji Wada also noted stiffness during the warm-up canter.

In the race, he sat mid-pack in eighth or ninth position. Approaching the third and final corners, he moved up early to match the outside challenge from Admire Boss. In the stretch, he fought alongside Admire Boss and Air Shakur but could not outfinish them, and all three were overtaken late by longshot Toho Dream, the ninth choice, who swept past from behind. T.M. Opera O finished fourth that day. After the race, Wada remained optimistic: “This run will bring improvement. We’ll definitely bounce back next time.” Iwamoto commented: “It can’t be helped. We’ll start over.”

Elsewhere in the key prep races for the Tenno Sho (Spring), Narita Top Road scored a record-setting victory in the Hanshin Daishoten, winning by eight lengths, while Meisho Doto captured the Nikkei Sho.

The buildup to the Tenno Sho defense was anything but smooth. In the early stages of preparation, T.M. Opera O's form had cratered, worryingly off his best. But with ten days to post, the tide began to turn. By his final workout, the engine was humming again.

Come April 29th, the betting public showed a flicker of doubt for the first time since autumn. The tote board blinked 2.0-to-1—the first time since the previous fall's Tenno Sho that Opera had drifted beyond even money. Narita Top Road drew 3.4-to-1 support. Meisho Doto, his Arima Kinen nemesis, sat at 6.5. The race unfolded into a blistering affair: the opening 1,000 meters clocked in 58.3 seconds, the fastest in the race's storied history. T.M. Opera O tracked from mid-pack as the field scorched the turf, shadowed closely by his rivals in what had become a common choreographed dance T.M. Opera O was all too familiar with: everyone watching the champion, no one willing to let him loose. Turning for home, Narita Top Road fired first and seized command. For a fleeting moment, the upset looked possible. Then T.M. Opera O shifted gears, surging past him whole before holding off Meisho Doto's late surge attempt to close the gap. Half a length at the wire. Victory number seven at the Grade 1 level, tying Symboli Rudolf's all-time mark.

He also became the first horse ever to win three consecutive Tenno Sho titles across both the spring and autumn runnings, as well as the first to secure three Tenno Sho wins in total. After the race, owner Takezono stated that Opera O’s next start would be the Takarazuka kinen, and that depending on the result, an overseas campaign would be considered.

The Takarazuka Kinen

The world, it seemed, was watching. Heading into the Takarazuka Kinen on June 24th, everything pointed toward history. A second consecutive victory in the race. An eighth Grade 1 triumph, breaking the all-time record outright. And T.M. Opera O was flying, his condition described as near-perfect.

At the pre-race Takarazuka Festival, jockey Wada didn't hedge. “We have a 99 percent chance of winning.” On race day, T.M. Opera O was sent off as the favorite, followed by Meisho Doto at 3.4; a rival who had finished second to him five times since the previous year’s Takarazuka Kinen.

In the race, T.M. Opera O was slow into stride and settled toward the rear, while Meisho Doto adopted a forward position in fourth. As the field approached the final corner, Meisho Doto moved up to challenge for the lead. T.M. Opera O, however, found himself pinned in: Yukio Okabe on Daiwa Texas held him tightly to the outside, boxing him in as the pack compressed. Amid the resulting traffic, Opera O lost his running room entirely, forcing Wada to sit up in the saddle and take a strong hold of the reins. Into the stretch, Opera finally found room and launched his bid from third-last. He closed ground, but the damage was done. Meisho Doto had opened a decisive gap, and the champion couldn't bridge it. At the wire: one and a quarter lengths separated them, defeating T.M. Opera O, handing the champion a rare and frustrating defeat.

The one percent, out of the 99, prevailed.

After the race, jockey Wada reflected: “I ended up going into a tight spot and couldn’t get through. It turned into the one scenario I feared the most. It’s disappointing, especially because his condition was so good.”Iwamoto commented, “There might have been an option to race from second or third position, but the riding decisions are up to the jockey. It’s a shame, because the horse was in such good form.” Takezono was blunt in his frustration: “The interference he suffered was just too much. It was an awful race. He still showed his ability at the end, but…” He added, “Losing and then going overseas is out of the question,” confirming that the horse would remain in domestic competition for the autumn season.

After the race, Yasuhiko Yasuda, jockey of Meisho Doto expressed his joy: "I was so happy that I could have quit being a jockey." Owner Yoshio Matsumoto of Meisho Doto later reflected: “For me, finishing ahead of T.M. Opera O was incredibly meaningful. If he hadn’t been second, the value of the win wouldn’t be the same. Beating a horse that had beaten us five times—that’s what gives this victory real worth. I truly felt, ‘Thank you for showing up.’”

During the summer, T.M. Opera O was sent to the Kabari Training Center for a rest once more. However on August 1st, during this break, owner Takezono announced that the horse would retire at the end of the year. The decision, Takezono explained, stemmed from deep concern for the horse’s well-being. Opera O had been subjected to relentless marking, repeated bumping, and at times blatant interference from rivals. Takezono felt it was unbearable to watch and unfair to demand that the horse continue racing under such conditions. He feared that as the targeting intensified, a serious accident could eventually occur. Wanting to protect the horse before anything happened, he chose to bring his career to a close. Trainer Iwamoto and the stable staff had believed T.M. Opera O could continue racing the following year, noting that he had matured late; his teeth had changed and his withers had developed only after turning four, but they accepted Takezono’s decision, understanding that it was made for the horse’s sake.

Conqueror's Fall

Come October 7th, T.M. Opera O opened the autumn in the Kyoto Daishoten. He was starting off as the favorite, followed by Narita Top Road, and Stay Gold.

Through the running, Opera and Stay Gold tracked in tandem just off the pace, Narita Top Road breathing down their necks. Into the stretch, Narita Top Road struck first for the lead. Stay Gold knifed through on the rail to challenge. Opera loomed wide, three abreast.

Then chaos struck as Stay Gold's jockey Goto Hiroki cracked his whip. The horse lurched violently left, caroming into the gap where Narita Top Road was running. Kunihiko Watanabe was thrown from the saddle as Narita Top Road stumbled badly beneath him. Stay Gold continued on to finish first, while T.M. Opera O, spooked by the incident unfolding beside him, crossed the line half a length behind in second.

Following an inquiry, Stay Gold was disqualified for interference, and T.M. Opera O was promoted to first. An enraged owner Takezono confronted Goto in the weighing room, shouting, “Ride fair!” and “This is the third time!” Goto later received a six-day suspension for dangerous riding. The win gave T.M. Opera O twelve career graded stakes victories, tying the all-time mark held by Speed Symboli and Oguri Cap. But with a jockey injured and the result decided by disqualification rather than dominance, Opera O's team declined to attend the winner's ceremony, bringing the horse's final race in the Kansai region ending not with triumph, but with a silent close.

The Tenno Sho (Autumn)

On October 28th, T.M. Opera O embarks on his quest for an unprecedented fourth consecutive Tenno Sho title. And once again, the rain came, turning the track heavy, just as it had been the year before.

The betting: T.M. Opera at 2.1-to-1, Meisho Doto at 3.4, and Stay Gold, first past the post in the Kyoto Daishoten, at 4.5.

As the race began, Silent Hunter, whose team had publicly declared they would “go as far as he can from the start”, broke badly and lost significant ground, causing Meisho Doto to be pushed into setting the pace. T.M. Opera O settled in third to fourth position. The field passed the first 1000 meters in 1:02.2, which was slow even considering the track conditions, and the pack remained tightly bunched as they entered the final stretch. Stay Gold made his bid early in the stretch, then lugged in sharply and stalled. T.M. Opera O accelerated past Meisho Doto and Joten Brave to seize command. For a moment, title number four looked secure.

Then, from the clouds, came Agnes Digital. The closer had swept widest of all, and now, in the final hundred meters, he collared the champion. At the wire: one length separated them, with Opera on the wrong side of the margin. Agnes Digital had won the previous year's Mile Championship, but his Tenno Sho entry had been a last-minute decision. Fourth choice in the betting. 20-to-1 on the board. The upset was complete. The four-peat dream was dead. And once again, T.M. Opera had been beaten not by the horse everyone expected, but by the one no one saw coming.

From the moment Wada cleared Meisho Doto, Agnes Digital was already in his peripheral vision, sweeping widest of all. "If we could've drawn alongside him, I felt we had another gear," the jockey explained afterward. "But the gap was too wide—I couldn't angle out to engage him."

His assessment was matter-of-fact: "Today, the other horse was stronger."

But Wada wasn't ready to write off his mount. "He's not quite back to his absolute peak yet—still a touch short of where he was at his best. There's no guarantee he'll continue to improve the way we hope, but I'm certain the potential is still there. He can get better."

Trainer Iwamoto was less optimistic. "Even if we'd drawn even, we'd still have been beaten. Simple as that. There was a horse out there with more in the tank, a horse who handles the heavy going better than Opera does."

The Japan Cup

Heading into the Japan Cup, T.M. Opera O's form remained stubbornly flat. His final pre-race workout lacked spark, and trainer Iwamoto's words at the press conference, "This is grim" made headlines across the racing papers. However, in the days following that workout, Opera O’s appetite recovered rapidly. On race day, jockey Wada, who mounted the horse, felt that he carried “the fiercest spirit of this autumn.”

The international invitees included six Group 1 winners, among them 2000 Guineas victor Golan from Britain. But the buzz was muted, no single international contender drew much attention. Japanese horses occupied the top five betting choices, with T.M. Opera O as the first favorite, followed by Jungle Pocket, the year's Japanese Derby winner, then Meisho Doto and Stay Gold.

The race unfolded at a slow pace. T.M. Opera O settled in third or fourth, Stay Gold in sixth or seventh, and Meisho Doto and Jungle Pocket around tenth or eleventh. The tempo quickened down the backstretch, and turning for home, Opera O struck to the front with authority. Wada knew his mount had a dangerous habit: when left alone in front, Opera would idle, lose focus, drift. He'd hoped to time the move perfectly. But Stay Gold was closing fast behind him, forcing Wada's hand. Once in the clear, Opera O entered a solo rhythm but began to relax and waver slightly. In the final stretch, Jungle Pocket, flying widest and latest of all, collared him by a neck at the end. Second place for T.M. Opera O.

After the race, Wada stated, "I didn't want to lose to a three-year-old... But it's tough when you're the target. It felt the same last time. I wish there had been a few more horses around...", while Iwamoto remarked, "Ultimately, the flow just didn't come to our horse." Meanwhile, Jungle Pocket's trainer, Sakae Watanabe, commented, "Watching TM Opera O's recent races, I felt he seemed to have lost a bit of his best form. I'd never seen that horse lose in a competitive race before. Today, seeing him lose in a competitive race made me feel Jungle Pocket's strength."

Arima Kinen, the Final Performance

Come Arima Kinen, the fan vote told its own story. While his total had dipped from the previous year, T.M. Opera O still commanded 93,217 votes, enough for first place for the second consecutive year, as well as marking the 15th straight race since age four in which he had started as the top pick. This streak broke the previous consecutive-favorite record held by Meiji in 1963–64. Meisho Doto went off as the second favorite, followed by that year’s Kikuka Sho winner, Manhattan Cafe, in third.

December 23rd. The final bow.

The race started at a slow pace, with Opera O settling in mid-to-rear pack. Meisho Doto, running ahead, moved up to third, but jockey Wada chose not to chase, keeping Opera O restrained. Entering the final stretch, the frontrunners To The Victory, American Boss, and Meisho Doto, began their drives. Wada asked once more, and Opera responded.

But the gears that had turned so effortlessly for two years now felt heavy. He couldn't get past them. Manhattan Cafe surged past him. T.M. Opera O finished fifth, the lowest placing of his career.

Although Cafe, coming from the rear, claimed victory, the race favored the front-runners. Reflecting on his ride, jockey Ryuji Wada said, “I should have positioned him a little further forward on the backstretch. If we had won either the Tenno Sho or the Japan Cup this autumn, maybe I could have moved him more aggressively.” Even as he left the weighing room, he repeated, “I knew in my head that I had to make a move… but I just couldn’t.”

Trainer Iwamoto offered a candid assessment of Wada’s ride: “Overall, I think he may have been too careful. Well… there’s no point saying that now. Hmm… it’s over.”

The champion had run his final race. Not with the blaze of glory scripts are written from, but with the quiet dignity of a warrior who'd given everything.

Some stories end with triumph. This one ended with truth.

When the Arima Kinen purse was added to the ledger, the numbers were staggering: ¥1,835,189,000 in career earnings. More than 170 times what owner Takezono had paid for him as a yearling. Over ¥700 million clear of Special Week, who sat second on the all-time list.

The record would stand for sixteen years, untouched until Kitasan Black finally surpassed it at the end of 2017. On January 13, 2002, Kyoto Racecourse hosted a joint retirement ceremony for two great rivals: T.M. Opera O and Meisho Doto. Standing before the press, jockey Ryuji Wada's voice caught.

"T.M. Opera O gave me so much," he said, fighting back tears. "But I couldn't give anything back to him. From now on, I'll strive to become a top-class man worthy of his recognition." In addition to this, he made a promise that he will not visit T.M. Opera O until the day he wins another G1.

After the ceremony, both horses returned to the Ritto Training Center and, on January 17, were transported together to Urakawa, Hokkaido, to begin their careers as stallions. Deputy manager Daisuke Aoki of East Stud later described his first impression upon seeing T.M. Opera O step down from the horse transport: "What beautiful legs it has. A horse that has run this long would normally have signs of injury or traces of intense racing. Perhaps this horse never ran at full speed. If it was that strong, what would have happened if it had run at full speed?"

Retirement and Death

After retirement, T.M. Opera O became a stud horse, alternating between recuperation at East Stud in Urakawa Town, Hokkaido, and the Hidaka Horse Breeders' Association Monbetsu Stud Farm^{[citation needed]} in Monbetsu Town, Hokkaido (now Hidaka Town). He began to stand stud in 2002 with a stud fee of 5 million yen. His first foals were born in 2003 and became eligible to race in 2005. On May 17, 2008, T.M. Toppazure won the Kyoto Jump Stakes, becoming his first offspring to win a graded stakes race.

In June 2010, following the closure of Monbetsu Stud Farm, T.M. Opera O was transferred to the Hidaka Branch of T.M. Ranch in Hidaka Town, Hokkaido. In November of the same year, he was relocated once more to Lex Stud in Shin-Hidaka Town, Hokkaido. After a third transfer to a recuperation facility, he finally settled at Hakuba Bokujo in Niikappu Town, Hokkaido.

On May 17th, 2018, T.M. Opera O died from a heart attack while grazing at the age of 22. His jockey Ryuji Wada could not win another G1 race in 17 years after T.M. Opera O retired, and as a result never visited him before his death.

Honors

• JRA Award for Best Three-Year-Old Colt (1999)
• Japanese Horse of the Year (2000)
• JRA Award for Best Older Male Horse (2000)
• JRA Hall of Fame (2004)

Race Records

Race data sourced from netkeiba.

Date	Racecourse	Race	Grade	Distance	Gate	Odds	Fav.	Fin.	Time	Margin	Jockey	Winner (Runner-Up)	Other Umamusume
1998/08/15	Kyoto	Three-Year-Old Newcomer	Maiden	T 1600m	8	1.5	1	2	1:36.7	1.0	R.Wada	Classic Stage
1999/01/16	Kyoto	Four-Year-Old Maiden	Maiden	D 1400m	12	3.9	2	4	1:28.0	0.8	R.Wada	Zenno Honimbo
1999/02/06	Kyoto	Four-Year-Old Maiden	Maiden	D 1800m	2	1.8	1	1	1:55.6	-0.9	R.Wada	(Himino Commander)
1999/02/27	Hanshin	Yukiyanagi Sho	Pre-OP	T 2000m	13	4.8	2	1	2:05.3	-0.1	R.Wada	(Uncle Through)
1999/03/28	Hanshin	Mainichi Hai	G3	T 2000m	1	7.3	3	1	2:04.1	-0.7	R.Wada	(Tagano Brian)
1999/04/18	Nakayama	Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas)	G1	T 2000m	12	11.1	5	1	2:00.7	0.0	R.Wada	(Osumi Bright)	Narita Top Road, Admire Vega
1999/06/06	Tokyo	Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby)	G1	T 2400m	14	4.2	3	3	2:25.6	0.3	R.Wada	Admire Vega	Admire Vega, Narita Top Road
1999/10/10	Kyoto	Kyoto Daishoten	G2	T 2400m	10	5.5	3	3	2:24.4	0.1	R.Wada	Tsurumaru Tsuyoshi	Tsurumaru Tsuyoshi, Mejiro Bright, Special Week, Stay Gold
1999/11/07	Kyoto	Kikuka Sho (Japanese St.Leger)	G1	T 3000m	4	3.5	2	2	3:07.7	0.1	R.Wada	Narita Top Road	Narita Top Road, Admire Vega
1999/12/04	Nakayama	Stayers Stakes	G2	T 3600m	10	1.1	1	2	3:46.2	0.0	R.Wada	Painted Black
1999/12/26	Nakayama	Arima Kinen	G1	T 2500m	11	12.0	5	3	2:37.2	0.0	R.Wada	Grass Wonder	Grass Wonder, Special Week, Tsurumaru Tsuyoshi, Mejiro Bright, Narita Top Road, Stay Gold
2000/02/20	Kyoto	Kyoto Kinen	G2	T 2200m	8	1.9	1	1	2:13.8	0.0	R.Wada	(Narita Top Road)	Narita Top Road, Stay Gold
2000/03/19	Hanshin	Hanshin Daishoten	G2	T 3000m	1	2.0	1	1	3:09.4	-0.4	R.Wada	(Rascal Suzuka)	Narita Top Road
2000/04/30	Kyoto	Tenno Sho (Spring)	G1	T 3200m	5	1.7	1	1	3:17.6	-0.1	R.Wada	(Rascal Suzuka)	Narita Top Road, Stay Gold
2000/06/25	Hanshin	Takarazuka Kinen	G1	T 2200m	1	1.9	1	1	2:13.8	0.0	R.Wada	(Meisho Doto)	Meisho Doto, Grass Wonder, Matikanefukukitaru, Stay Gold
2000/10/08	Kyoto	Kyoto Daishoten	G2	T 2400m	1	1.8	1	1	2:26.0	0.0	R.Wada	(Narita Top Road)	Narita Top Road, Tsurumaru Tsuyoshi, Mejiro Bright
2000/10/29	Tokyo	Tenno Sho (Autumn)	G1	T 2000m	13	2.4	1	1	1:59.9	-0.4	R.Wada	(Meisho Doto)	Meisho Doto, Narita Top Road, Stay Gold
2000/11/26	Tokyo	Japan Cup	G1	T 2400m	8	1.5	1	1	2:26.1	0.0	R.Wada	(Meisho Doto)	Meisho Doto, Air Shakur, Stay Gold
2000/12/24	Nakayama	Arima Kinen	G1	T 2500m	7	1.7	1	1	2:34.1	0.0	R.Wada	(Meisho Doto)	Tsurumaru Tsuyoshi, Meisho Doto, King Halo, Narita Top Road, Stay Gold
2001/04/01	Hanshin	Sankei Osaka Hai	G2	T 2000m	14	1.3	1	4	1:58.7	0.3	R.Wada	Toho Dream	Air Shakur
2001/04/29	Kyoto	Tenno Sho (Spring)	G1	T 3200m	1	2.0	1	1	3:16.2	-0.1	R.Wada	(Meisho Doto)	Meisho Doto, Narita Top Road, Air Shakur, Seiun Sky
2001/06/24	Hanshin	Takarazuka Kinen	G1	T 2200m	4	1.5	1	2	2:11.9	0.2	R.Wada	Meisho Doto	Meisho Doto, Air Shakur, Stay Gold
2001/10/07	Kyoto	Kyoto Daishoten	G2	T 2400m	5	1.4	1	1	2:25.0	-0.8	R.Wada	(Suehiro Commander)	Narita Top Road, Stay Gold
2001/10/28	Tokyo	Tenno Sho (Autumn)	G1	T 2000m	6	2.1	1	2	2:02.2	0.2	R.Wada	Agnes Digital	Agnes Digital, Meisho Doto, Stay Gold
2001/11/25	Tokyo	Japan Cup	G1	T 2400m	4	2.8	1	2	2:23.8	0.0	R.Wada	Jungle Pocket	Jungle Pocket, Narita Top Road, Meisho Doto, Stay Gold
2001/12/23	Nakayama	Arima Kinen	G1	T 2500m	12	1.8	1	5	2:33.3	0.2	R.Wada	Manhattan Cafe	Manhattan Cafe, Meisho Doto, Narita Top Road

Pedigree

Horse pedigree of T.M. Opera O (JPN)

Sire Opera House (GB)	Sadler's Wells (USA)	Northern Dancer (CAN)	Nearctic (CAN)
			Natalma (USA)
		Fairy Bridge (USA)	Bold Reason (USA)
			Special (USA)
	Colorspin (FR)	High Top (GB)	Derring-Do (GB)
			Camenae (GB)
		Reprocolor (GB)	Jimmy Reppin (GB)
			Blue Queen (GB)
Dam Once Wed (USA)	Blushing Groom (FR)	Red God (USA)	Nasrullah (GB)
			Spring Run (USA)
		Runaway Bride (GB)	Wild Risk (FR)
			Aimee (GB)
	Noura (USA)	Key to the Kingdom (USA)	Bold Ruler (USA)
			Key Bridge (USA)
		River Guide (USA)	Drone (USA)
			Blue Canoe (USA), (Family: F4-m)

Trivia

• Despite being a strong racehorse, being able to not lose a single race during 2000, Opera O had garnered himself a significant number of people who hated him, believing that he made horse racing at that time too predictable and boring whenever he is part of the race. Some also thought that Opera O was an ugly horse to the point that whenever he makes public appearances, they would throw rocks at him. The hatred towards him was so severe that after his retirement, outsider visits for him were not permitted until his death due to someone breaking into his stable and cutting off a lock of his hair.
• Unlike his Umamusume depiction, the real T.M. Opera O was known to be a rather meek horse, which was described to be easy to handle and as calm as a cat.
• Wada won the Takarazuka Kinen soon after Opera O passed away in 2018 with a time 0.1 seconds faster than Meisho Doto's and bearing the same number as Opera O's in 2001. He cried after passing the finish line, saying that "T.M. Opera O was pushing me from behind".