Canonero II

Cañonero II
Sire	Pretendre
Grandsire	Doutelle
Dam	Dixieland II
Damsire	Nantallah
Sex	Stallion
Foaled	(1968-04-24)April 24, 1968
Died	November 11, 1981(1981-11-11) (aged 13)
Country	Venezuela
Colour	Bay
Breeder	Edward B. Benjamin
Owner	Pedro Batista King Ranch (late 1971)
Trainer	Juan Arias Buddy Hirsch (1972)
Record	23: 9-3-4
Earnings	$360,804
Major wins
Stymie Handicap (1972) Triple Crown Race wins: Kentucky Derby (1971) Preakness Stakes (1971)
Awards
U.S. Champion 3-Yr-Old Colt (1971)
Last updated on September 27, 2006

Cañonero II (April 24, 1968 – November 11, 1981) was a Venezuelan champion Thoroughbred race horse that may be best remembered for winning the first two legs of the 1971 U.S. Triple Crown, the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes.

Background

Bred by Edward B. Benjamin in Greensboro, North Carolina, the bay colt was born with a noticeably crooked foreleg, so was considered to have no future in racing. He was sold as a yearling for $1,200 at the Keeneland Sales to Venezuelan breeders Ramon Echegaray and Luis Navas. Purchased by Edgar Caibett, the horse was shipped to his owner's native Venezuela, where he earned an undistinguished record racing as a two-year-old in La Rinconada Hippodrome.

Triple Crown races

Because of his breeding, Cañonero II qualified for the Kentucky Derby, the most prestigious event in United States Thoroughbred horse racing. Trained by Juan Arias and ridden by jockey Gustavo Avila, in the spring of 1971, the horse was shipped to Louisville, Kentucky, for the big race. There, Cañonero II was dismissed as a horse that did not belong in such elite company and was listed at the bottom of the pack of the betting odds as part of a six-horse pool.

In the Derby's 20-horse field, Cañonero II shocked everyone by coming from 18th place to storm past the competition, easily winning the race by 33⁄4 lengths. Arguably the most astonishing upset in the race's history was deemed a fluke by many of horse racing's experts, who predicted Cañonero II would never win another race. However, in the Preakness Stakes, the second of the Triple Crown races, Cañonero II won again.

The third leg of the Triple Crown, the Belmont Stakes held near New York City, was run before the largest crowd in its history. The stands were filled with members of the city's large Latino community, there to cheer on their new hero. However, due to a foot infection that had bothered the horse for several days, Cañonero II, after taking the race lead, struggled across the finish line in fourth place. Despite this loss, he was named the winner of the 1971 Eclipse Award for Outstanding Three-Year-Old Male Horse.

Later career

Sold to the King Ranch, Cañonero II was nursed back to health by Hall of Fame trainer Buddy Hirsch. The following year in the Stymie Handicap at Belmont Park, he set a track record while defeating the great three-year-old champion Riva Ridge.

Retired to stud at the end of 1972, Cañonero II died in 1981.

Pedigree of Cañonero II

Sire Pretendre	Doutelle	Prince Chevalier	Prince Rose
			Chevalerie
		Above Board	Straight Deal
			Feola
	Limicola	Verso	Pinceau
			Variete
		Uccello	Donatello II
			Great Tit
Dam Dixieland II	Nantallah	Nasrullah	Nearco
			Mumtaz Begum
		Shimmer	Flares
			Broad Ripple
	Ragtime Band	Johnstown	Jamestown
			La France
		Martial Air	Man o' War
			Baton

References

• Haskin, Steve (March 26, 2011). "Viva Canonero!". The Blood-Horse.
• Profile of Canonero II (Spanish language)
• Canonero's pedigree
• Statistics for Canonero II's Kentucky Derby
• "The Year of Canonero". Time. June 14, 1971.
• Canonero II's offspring at the Triple Crown database by Kathleen Irwin and Joy Reeves