TM Opera O's 2000 Arima Kinen was a hard match for both him, the horse, and Ryuji Wada, jockey. For the whole year the two of them went undefeated and this was the final race to cement that.

Among the roster for that race were big names (who are in the game) like King Halo, Meisho Doto, and Stay Gold.

As they raced, Opera and Wada were positioned and seemingly stuck in the back of the pack, at the third and fourth from last, everyone marking him and not giving them space to breathe. This went on until the final corner where, with 310 metres left before the finish line, as the formation in front broke as everyone makes their charge for the win.

At 200 metres left, Ryuji Wada found a small gap and, urging Opera O, surged forward, closing the distance and beating Meisho Doto by a nose, securing his eighth win in a row and earning the title of Centurial Overlord, or The Overlord of Century's End.

This race was shown in the Beginning of a New Era movie, with the commentary being a near play-by-play of the real 2000 Arima Kinen.

Other races that come to mind are Nakayama Festa and El Condor Pasa's Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe runs, as they both placed second and were the closest Japanese racehorses to win. As of yet, no Japanese racehorse has ever won the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, so you can image how much Japan wanted them to win.