🐴 T.M. Opera O: The Overlord Nobody Wanted to Love
Bought for a modest ¥10.5 million at auction, his name was as simple as his origins: "T.M." for his owner's company, "Opera" for his sire, and "O" for "the king."
His path wasn't smooth either. He finished 2nd on debut while favorite, only for a hairline fracture to be discovered afterward. He wasn't even registered for the 1999 Satsuki Sho, his team had to pay a supplementary fee just to enter him. He won it anyway, as a total outsider.
Then came 2000. T.M. Opera O ran 8 races that year. He won all 8, including 5 Grade 1s. A complete sweep never done before, earning him a new nickname: "The Overlord of the Century's End."
And somehow, fans hated him for it. Too dominant, too predictable, some even called him ugly and threw rocks at his public appearances. After retirement, someone broke into his stable and cut off a lock of his mane, visits were banned for the rest of his life.
His jockey, Ryuji Wada, never won another G1 for 17 years, and never once visited him before he died in 2018. Months after Opera O passed, Wada finally won again, and cried at the finish line, saying he could feel Opera O pushing him from behind.