International company failed to stop Japan's champion, as the record favorite T.M. Opera O bested the competition yet again, this time for his seventh race straight, with a neck win of the 20th running of the Japan Cup at Tokyo Racecourse on Sunday.

Up against eight of Japan's best horses and seven foreign entrants intent on taking home the 250 million yen winner's share, T.M. Opera O gave it his characteristic best, hitting the highest note of his career thus far and keeping the money at home for the third year in a row.

Though no strong front-runners were anticipated to rev up the pace of this year's race, a unanimous cry of disbelief rose from the crowd as Stay Gold took the lead from the gate. With Stay Gold dallying in front, the pace dropped to a crawl, wreaking havoc with many of the foreign entrants. It was, in fact, the slowest first 1,000 meters ever run in the Japan Cup's 20 years. T.M. Opera O took it in stride, settling in two widths off the rail in sixth position.