T. M. Opera O
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| T. M. Opera O | |
|---|---|
| File:TM Opera O.jpg T. M. Opera O at age three | |
| Sire | Opera House |
| Grandsire | Sadler's Wells |
| Dam | Once Wed |
| Damsire | Blushing Groom |
| Sex | Stallion |
| Foaled | March 13, 1996 |
| Died | May 17, 2018 (aged 22) |
| Country | Japan |
| Colour | Chestnut |
| Breeder | Kineusu Bokojo |
| Owner | Masatsugu Takezono |
| Trainer | Ichizo Iwamoto |
| Jockey | Ryuji Wada |
| Record | 26: 14-6-3 |
| Earnings | 1,835,189,000 yen[1] |
| Major wins | |
| Satsuki Sho (1999) Tenno Sho (spring) (2000, 2001) Takarazuka Kinen (2000) Kyōto Daishōten (2000, 2001) Tenno Sho (autumn) (2000) Japan Cup (2000) Arima Kinen (2000) | |
| Awards | |
| JRA Award for Best Three-Year-Old Colt (1999) Japanese Horse of the Year (2000) JRA Award for Best Older Male Horse (2000) | |
| Honours | |
| Japan Racing Association Hall of Fame (2004) | |
| Last updated on February 2, 2010 | |
T. M. Opera O (Japanese: テイエムオペラオー, March 13, 1996 – May 17, 2018) was a champion Japanese thoroughbred racehorse, and the world's all-time leading money earner at the time of his retirement in 2001. In 1999, he was the champion three-year-old colt in Japan after winning the Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas). At age four, he was the Japanese Horse of the Year and champion older horse after an undefeated season that included wins in the Tenno Sho (both spring and autumn), the Japan Cup and the Arima Kinen. T. M. Opera O was inducted into the Japan Racing Association Hall of Fame in 2004.
Background
[edit | edit source]T. M. Opera O was a chestnut horse who was bred in Japan by Kineusu Bokujo.[2] He was sired by Opera House, an outstanding British middle-distance runner who was exported to stud in Japan.[3] T. M. Opera O was out of the American-bred mare Once Wed, an unraced daughter of Blushing Groom.[4][5]
T. M. Opera O was sold as a yearling in the 1997 Hokkaido October Sale for 10,500,000(JPY) to Masatsugu Takezono.[1] He was trained by Ichizo Iwamoto and regularly ridden by Ryuji Wada.[6]
Racing career
[edit | edit source]T. M. Opera O finished second in his only start at age two, after which he injured his left hind leg and was unable to race again for several months.[7]
At age three, he made ten starts, amassing a record of four wins, two seconds and three thirds. Early in the year he broke his maiden, then won the Yukiyanagi Sho at Hanshin over a distance of 2000m for his first stakes win. He followed this up by winning the Grade III Mainichi Hai on March 28, 1999. Despite his three-race winning streak, he was largely dismissed at odds of 11–1 in the Grade I Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas) on April 18. He raced near the back of the field during the early running then circled wide in deep stretch and prevailed by a neck in the final strides.[1][7]
Later that year, he finished second in the Kikuka Sho (Japanese St Leger) and third in both the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) and Arima Kinen.[1] He received the JRA Award for Best Three-Year-Old Colt.[2]
2000: Four-year old season
[edit | edit source]As a four-year-old in 2000, T. M. Opera O was undefeated in 8 starts, including five domestic Grade I wins and one international Grade I win.[1]
He started the season on March 19 with a win in the Hanshin Daishoten at a distance of 3000m. He then won the Tenno Sho (spring) at a distance of 3200m (roughly 2 miles) before shortening up to a distance of 2200m to win the Takarazuka Kinen.[8]
After a brief layoff, T. M. Opera won the Kyoto Daishoten on October 8. On October 29, he started in the 2000m Tenno Sho (autumn) from the outside post position 13. Jockey Ryuji Wada rode him strongly from the gate and moved aggressively towards the rail to save ground around the first turn. T. M. Opera O settled in third place then swung wide as they turned into the final stretch. He battled with Meisho Doto before hitting the lead with 200m remaining, then drew away to win by 2+1⁄2 lengths. He became just the third horse to win both the spring and autumn versions of the Tenno Sho in the same year. "He has no faults", said Wada. "And mentally he's so tough I wish he’d share some of it with me."[9]
T. M. Opera O earned the seventh straight win of his four-year old campaign in the Japan Cup. He was made the heavy favorite by a crowd of 110,000 in a field that included eight horses from Japan and seven foreign entries. Stay Gold went to the early lead and set a slow pace, while T. M. Opera O settled into sixth place. T. M. Opera O started his move on the final turn and took the lead with 200m remaining. Under heavy urging, he withstood a late charge by Meisho Doto to win by a neck, with Fantastic Light a further nose behind in third.[10] The win moved T. M. Opera O past Cigar as the leading money earner of all-time with winnings of 1.26 billion yen or $11.6 million.[11]
On December 24, T. M. Opera O made his final start of the year in the Arima Kinen at Nakayama Racecourse. He raced near the back of the field down the backstretch, then slowly made up ground on the final turn. Entering the final stretch, he was still well behind and faced a wall of horses in front of him. Wada decided to wait for an opening rather than lose ground by attempting to swing wide. With just 200m remaining, he finally found a narrow gap and urged T. M. Opera to squeeze through. The horse responded with a burst and closed rapidly to prevail over Meisho Doto by a nose. "I'm relieved", said Wada. "It was a tough race. I couldn't get the position I wanted at the start and I thought I'd blown it."[12]
T. M. Opera O was the unanimous selection as the Japanese Horse of the Year and Best Older Horse.[13]
2001: Five-year-old season
[edit | edit source]
In 2001, T. M. Opera O won two of seven starts with three second-place finishes. The highlight of this year was a repeat win in the Tenno Sho (spring), in which he defeated Meisho Doto by a nose.[1][14]
On June 25, T. M. Opera O attempted to repeat in the Takarazuka Kinen but was upset by Meisho Doto. T. M. Opera O had experienced severe traffic problems before swinging wide and mounting a "spectacular" closing drive that fell short by 1+1⁄4 lengths. It was Meisho Doto's first win against T. M. Opera O in six attempts, all in Grade 1 events.[15]
After a brief layoff, T. M. Opera O returned on October 1 to race in the Kyoto Daishoten. Whilst in the race itself T. M. Opera O narrowly placed second, the first place racer Stay Gold cut off Narita Top Road in the final sprint and caused his jockey to fall. Stay Gold was consequently disqualified from the race, leading to T. M. Opera O being declared the winner. On October 28, T. M. Opera O finished second in the Tenno Sho (autumn) to Agnes Digital, with Meisho Doto in third.[16] In his next start on November 25, he finished second in the Japan Cup, just a neck short of Japanese Derby winner Jungle Pocket.[17] He made his final start in the Arima Kinen, finishing fifth.[14]
T. M. Opera O retired at the end of 2001 as the world's all-time leading money-earner. He won 1,835,189,000 yen (US$16,200,337)[a] during his career.[2]
Racing summary
[edit | edit source]All races T. M. Opera O participated in were held on turf tracks, except for his first maiden race on Jan 16 1999, which was a dirt track.
| Date | Race | Class | Distance | Racecourse | Finish | Field | Time | Winner (2nd Place) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 15, 1998 | Newcomer | 1600m | Kyoto | 2 | 12 | 1:36.7 | Classic Stage | |
| Jan 16, 1999 | Maiden | 1400m | Kyoto | 4 | 16 | 1:28.0 | Zenno Honimbo | |
| Feb 6, 1999 | Maiden | 1800m | Kyoto | 1 | 10 | 1:55.6 | (Himino Commander) | |
| Feb 27, 1999 | Yukiyanagi Sho | 2000m | Hanshin | 1 | 14 | 2:05.3 | (Uncle Through) | |
| Mar 28, 1999 | Mainichi Hai | GIII* | 2000m | Hanshin | 1 | 14 | 2:04.1 | (Tagano Brian) |
| Apr 18, 1999 | Satsuki Sho | GI* | 2000m | Nakayama | 1 | 17 | 2:00.7 | (Osumi Bright) |
| Jun 6, 1999 | Tokyo Yushun | GI* | 2400m | Tokyo | 3 | 18 | 2:25.6 | Admire Vega |
| Oct 10, 1999 | Kyoto Daishoten | GII* | 2400m | Kyoto | 3 | 10 | 2:24.4 | Tsurumaru Tsuyoshi |
| Nov 7, 1999 | Kikuka Sho | GI* | 3000m | Kyoto | 2 | 15 | 3:07.7 | Narita Top Road |
| Dec 4, 1999 | Stayers Stakes | GII* | 3600m | Nakayama | 2 | 14 | 3:46.2 | Painted Black |
| Dec 26, 1999 | Arima Kinen | GI* | 2500m | Nakayama | 3 | 14 | 2:37.2 | Grass Wonder |
| Feb 20, 2000 | Kyoto Kinen | GII* | 2200m | Kyoto | 1 | 11 | 2:13.8 | (Narita Top Road) |
| Mar 19, 2000 | Hanshin Daishoten | GII* | 3000m | Hanshin | 1 | 9 | 3:09.4 | (Rascal Suzuka) |
| Apr 30, 2000 | Tenno Sho (Spring) | GI* | 3200m | Kyoto | 1 | 12 | 3:17.6 | (Rascal Suzuka) |
| Jun 25, 2000 | Takarazuka Kinen | GI* | 2200m | Hanshin | 1 | 11 | 2:13.8 | (Meisho Doto) |
| Oct 8, 2000 | Kyoto Daishoten | GII* | 2400m | Kyoto | 1 | 12 | 2:26.0 | (Narita Top Road) |
| Oct 29, 2000 | Tenno Sho (Autumn) | GI* | 2000m | Tokyo | 1 | 16 | 1:59.9 | (Meisho Doto) |
| Nov 26, 2000 | Japan Cup | GI | 2400m | Tokyo | 1 | 16 | 2:26.1 | (Meisho Doto) |
| Dec 24, 2000 | Arima Kinen | GI* | 2500m | Nakayama | 1 | 16 | 2:34.1 | (Meisho Doto) |
| Apr 1, 2001 | Sankei Osaka Hai | GII* | 2000m | Hanshin | 4 | 14 | 1:58.7 | Toho Dream |
| Apr 29, 2001 | Tenno Sho (Spring) | GI* | 3200m | Kyoto | 1 | 12 | 3:16.2 | (Meisho Doto) |
| Jun 24, 2001 | Takarazuka Kinen | GI | 2200m | Hanshin | 2 | 12 | 2:11.9 | Meisho Doto |
| Oct 7, 2001 | Kyoto Daishoten | GII* | 2400m | Kyoto | 1 | 7 | 2:25.0 | (Suehiro Commander) |
| Oct 28, 2001 | Tenno Sho (Autumn) | GI* | 2000m | Tokyo | 2 | 13 | 2:02.2 | Agnes Digital |
| Nov 25, 2001 | Japan Cup | GI | 2400m | Tokyo | 2 | 15 | 2:23.8 | Jungle Pocket |
| Dec 23, 2001 | Arima Kinen | GI* | 2500m | Nakayama | 5 | 13 | 2:33.3 | Manhattan Cafe |
* At the time, most Japanese races were restricted to domestic-bred horses and the internal grading was not internationally recognized. The Japan Cup and 2001 Takarazuka Kinen however were open to foreign bred horses.
Source: JBIS Race Records[8]
Stud career
[edit | edit source]T. M. Opera O was retired to stud in 2002, during which he covered 98 mares. He was not considered a success and interest in him steadily declined. His most successful offspring on the flat was T. M. Yokado, winner of the Queen Sho.[5] T. M. Toppazure became his leading money earner after a successful second career as a jumper.[18] T. M. Opera O died suddenly after suffering a heart attack at the Hakuba Bokujo, Hokkaido, on May 17, 2018.[19][20] T. M. Opera O's funeral ceremony was held on June 15, 2018 at Hakuba Bokujo together with Goshawk Ken, another horse that died three days prior to T. M. Opera O.[21]
In popular culture
[edit | edit source]An anthropomorphized version of T. M. Opera O appears in the media franchise Umamusume: Pretty Derby,[22] portrayed as an orange-haired girl with an inflated ego and a penchant for theatrics, voiced by Sora Tokui. The character is featured in the franchise's spin off anime Uma Musume Pretty Derby: Road to the Top together with Admire Vega and Narita Top Road.[23][24] She would later return as a major antagonist in the sequel movie Uma Musume Pretty Derby: Beginning Of A New Era, which retells the rise of Jungle Pocket and the end of Opera O's winning streak.
Pedigree
[edit | edit source]| Sire Opera House (GB) |
Sadler's Wells | Northern Dancer | Nearctic |
|---|---|---|---|
| Natalma | |||
| Fairy Bridge | Bold Reason | ||
| Special | |||
| =Colorspin | =High Top (IRE) | Derring-Do (GB) | |
| Camenae (GB) | |||
| =Reprocolor (GB) | Jimmy Reppin (GB) | ||
| Blue Queen (GB) | |||
| Dam Once Wed |
Blushing Groom (FR) | Red God | *Nasrullah |
| Spring Run | |||
| Runaway Bride (GB) | =Wild Risk (FR) | ||
| =Aimee (GB) | |||
| Noura | Key to the Kingdom | Bold Ruler | |
| Key Bridge | |||
| River Guide | Drone | ||
| Blue Canoe |
In the pedigree, symbols before a horse's name mean the horse was foaled in one country but subsequently stood at stud in another
See also
[edit | edit source]Notes
[edit | edit source]- ^ The conversion to USD was made during T. M. Opera O's racing career and does not reflect current conversion rates
References
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