[2] He was sired by Opera House, an outstanding British middle-distance runner who was exported to stud in Japan.

[6] 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.

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.

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.

Jockey Ryuji Wada rode him strongly from the gate and moved aggressively towards the rail to save ground around the first turn.

Stay Gold went to the early lead and set a slow pace, while T M Opera O settled into sixth place.

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.

The highlight of this year was a repeat win in the Tenno Sho (spring), in which he defeated Meisho Doto by a nose.

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.

On October 28, he 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.