Rags to riches Kentucky Derby winners: Canonero II
The Juan Arias-trained Canonero II surprised the world when winning the Kentucky Derby in 1971 at incredible odds - and his story is even more incredible.
The horse known as the "Caracas Cannonball" would have undoubtedly won the Kentucky Derby with the largest odds of all time had he not been thrown into a group of betting pool no-hopers. This group of five colts offered odds of 8/1 if any one of them passed the post in first place. Future estimates of Canonero II's true odds had him at 500/1.
Yet the fact that Canonero II even appeared in the Kentucky Derby at all is a story in itself, with almost everything standing in the way of the horse making his way from Caracas for "The Greatest Two Minutes in Sport".
The road to the Kentucky Derby
Things didn't exactly improve after the start on May 1, 1971, in front of 123,284 people. Canonero II found himself in 18th place after half a mile, with jockey Gustavo Avila struggling to keep his mount in contention. However, Canonero II had been used to running the Kentucky Derby distance of a mile and a quarter and coming towards the final turn at Churchill Downs, he went from 17th place to fourth.
"They say we are clowns. They say we are Indians because my horse gallops slowly, sometimes without a saddle. They come to look at my horse but turn away and wrinkle up their noses. Now I no longer have to justify myself. What can they say now?," trainer Arias told Sports Illustrated.
Preakness perfection and attack on the Triple Crown
Canonero II wasn't done there and went on to fly in the face of his no-hoper reputation by taking the Preakness Stakes too, in a then-record time of 1:54.00.
The Triple Crown beckoned for Canonero II, attracting a huge Latino audience to Belmont Park for the final leg of the pinnacle of US Thoroughbred racing, the Belmont Stakes. A record crowd of 82,694, swelled by an estimated 25,000 Venezuelans, thronged the New York track with an atmosphere more akin to a soccer match than a horse race.
Canonero II enjoys further success
Canonero II suffered from a series of injuries which prevented him from truly living up to the huge price tag but, as always, he was able to spring a surprise or two.
Milton Toby, author of the book Canonero II: The Rags to Riches Story of the Kentucky Derby's Most Improbable Winner, had the final word on the horse's success at Churchill Downs in the Run For The Roses: "He was a very good horse…, it wasn't an upset, it was a surprise, and an upset and a surprise are not the same thing."
Canonero II played his part in building the Kentucky Derby into a race with a reputation where underdogs can prevail and showed that no horse can be written off in "The Greatest Two Minutes in Sport".