Recently I have been thinking about how some of the most memorable and lasting impressions have come from the unexpected. Sometimes greatness is bred in the depths of adversity and trials. Many of you are probably racking your brains as you read trying to draw a connection to the title “Canonero II”. Is this a person? Is it a place? Is it an ancient pharaoh? The answer is no to all of these questions. Canonero II is a horse. Not just any horse but a champion.
Canonero II was bred in Greensboro North Carolina by Edward Benjamin. As a colt Canonero II had a noticeably crooked foreleg thus dismissing any chance of a racing career. Benjamin sold Canonero II for an affordable $ 1,200 to Edgar Caibett and shipped to his home in Venezuela. There Canonero II was trained and had an un-eventful racing career. Then the two year old horse caught his break. After a tumultuous journey from Venezuela to Louisville Kentucky Canonero II was a noticeable long shot to win the Kentucky Derby. Many of the owners and trainers of the other horses called Canonero II a “ragamuffin.” Nobody gave Canonero II a shot.
But there is a popular saying in sports and competition, ” that’s why you play the game, or in this case why you run the race.” The official longest odds to ever win the Kentucky Derby was Donerail at 91-1 in 1913. Just to put that in perspective, a $ 2.00 bet would of yielded a payout of $ 184.90. Not a bad return on a $ 2.00 bet. However Canonero II is wildly accepted as the most unlikely of winners. In 1971 the method of betting was to place odds on the top horses and then have a group of long shots that didn’t have individual odds. Many racing experts have agreed that if there wasn’t a pool of long shots then Canonero II would of been a larger long shot than Donerail in 1913.
As the race began Canonero II started in the 18th slot. In the first quarter it didn’t look like Canonero would do anything spectacular, however, as the race continued Canonero started to pick off each horse in front of him. By the half way point he was in the top four. Then in the last quarter Canonero made his move. He shot out with a burst of speed passing multiple horses. Picture the crowd as they witnessed this so called, ” ragamuffin” horse bolt pass the favorites. As they came down to the wire there was no doubt as Canonero won by four lengths. Canonero II came from obscurity to win the most prestigious horse race in the United States. However critics are quick to point out the fact that it was a fluke. Canonero had a swift reply. He would go on to win the Preakness and fall just short of the triple crown by finishing fourth in the Belmont Stakes.
What lessons can we glean from Canonero? As I have researched and studied his story, I have come to several conclusions. I realize the importance of adversity. Personally I have gone through adversity in a number of areas. A few of these include family, friendship, athletics, academics, as well as employment.
I can specifically recall one instance in college. As a freshmen I struggled in Calculus. Prior to college it was pretty rare for me to receive poor grades, however, I remember getting my first test back and having a 61 staring at me. I was shocked and thought to myself that I studied and I still received a 61? Now this was an important cross road in my college career. I had two trains of thought race across my mind. The first was, ” it’s ok it was just a bad day, a fluke, I will do better on the next one.” The second thought that I had was, ” ok I am going to get some extra help and make sure I am more prepared for the second test.” I am glad I followed my second thought. I ended up getting a B in the class and used this lesson throughout my college career.
Adversity and trials test who we are at the core. Are we going to complain in our trials? Are we going to make excuses? I think that we can all learn a lot about ourselves and become better people as we look to grow in our trials. Just as Canonero was given no hope as a young colt to be a Kentucky Derby champion, we too can achieve our goals as we embrace ourselves and work with what we have.
The next time you are experiencing hardships, just keep your head up and know that you are just being molded into something great. As you do this I know you will come out a better person!
Nunc Coepi 