Cannonade
Encyclopedia
For the cannon see Carronade
Cannonade (1971–1993) was an American
Thoroughbred
racehorse
best known as the winner of the 1974 Kentucky Derby
. Owned and bred by prominent businessman John M. Olin
, Cannonade was foaled at Gainesway Farm
in Lexington, Kentucky
. He was out of the mare Queen Sucree, a daughter of Ribot
, the undefeated Europe
an champion and Leading sire in Great Britain & Ireland
. Cannonade was sired by American Champion
Bold Bidder
who would also sire the U.S. Racing Hall of Fame
great, Spectacular Bid
. Bold Bidder's sire was Bold Ruler
, himself a Hall of Fame inductee and an eight-time Leading sire in North America
.
Racing at age two on the New York State circuit, Cannonade was trained by future Hall of Fame inductee, Woody Stephens
. He was beaten twice before earning his first win then in June captured the now defunct 5½ furlong Great American Stakes at Belmont Park
. Cannonade's next significant win came in September's Aqueduct Handicap
at Aqueduct Racetrack
followed by a third place finish in the important Champagne Stakes. His next and final win of the 1973 season came at Churchill Downs
in Louisville, Kentucky
where he won the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes
.
Cannonade had a racemate named Judger who was owned by Seth Hancock's Cherry Valley Farm
. In the spring of 1974, the two 3-year-old colts competed on the Florida
racing circuit in the lead up to the Kentucky Derby. In the Fountain of Youth Stakes
, Judger finished second but ahead of Cannonade who was unplaced. In the Flamingo Stakes
, Judger finished third but once again ahead of an unplaced Cannonade. Judger then won the important Grade I Florida Derby
with an improving Cannonade taking second.
and the duo went off as the betting favorite. Ridden by Angel Cordero, Jr., Cannonade worked his way through the unwieldy field and was in front by the time he reached the mile pole. He never relinquished the lead, winning by 2¼ lengths but in the slow time of 2:04 on a track rated as fast. The win was the first in the Derby for both jockey Cordero and trainer Woody Stephens. Stablemate, Judger, finished a disappointing eighth.
In the remaining two legs of the American Triple Crown series, Cannonade finished third in both the Preakness Stakes
at Pimlico Race Course
and in the Belmont Stakes
at Belmont Park
to Darby Dan Farm's
Little Current
.
Cannonade retired after his 1974 racing season to stand at stud
at Gainesway Farm. While his offspring included several stakes winners, most met with only modest success on the race track. However, Cannonade's son Caveat
was a multiple graded stakes race winner who captured the 1983 Belmont Stakes
.
Cannonade lived until the age of twenty-two, when he had to be euthanized
on August 3, 1993, reportedly due to infirmities of natural causes. He is buried in the Gainesway equine cemetery.
Carronade
The carronade was a short smoothbore, cast iron cannon, developed for the Royal Navy by the Carron Company, an ironworks in Falkirk, Scotland, UK. It was used from the 1770s to the 1850s. Its main function was to serve as a powerful, short-range anti-ship and anti-crew weapon...
Cannonade (1971–1993) was an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Thoroughbred
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
racehorse
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
best known as the winner of the 1974 Kentucky Derby
Kentucky Derby
The Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses, held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The race is one and a quarter mile at Churchill Downs. Colts and geldings carry...
. Owned and bred by prominent businessman John M. Olin
John M. Olin
John Merrill Olin was an American businessman. He was the son of Franklin W. Olin.-Early life:Born in Alton, Illinois, Olin graduated from Cornell University with a B.Sc. degree in chemistry and as a brother of the Kappa Sigma Fraternity...
, Cannonade was foaled at Gainesway Farm
Gainesway Farm
Gainesway Farm is an American Thoroughbred horse breeding business in Lexington, Kentucky. It was originally called Greentree Farms.The 1,500 acre property has been home to sires such as Youth and Exceller and numerous others who are buried on the property...
in Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region...
. He was out of the mare Queen Sucree, a daughter of Ribot
Ribot (horse)
Ribot was an Italian bay Thoroughbred racehorse, considered the strongest horse of all time.Undefeated in 16 races, he won over distances ranging from 5 furlongs to 1m 7f , in three different countries and in all types of track conditions...
, the undefeated Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an champion and Leading sire in Great Britain & Ireland
Leading sire in Great Britain & Ireland
The list below shows the leading sire of racehorses in Great Britain and Ireland for each year since 1751. This is determined by the amount of prize money won by the sire's progeny during the season.----- References :* -See also:...
. Cannonade was sired by American Champion
Eclipse Award for Outstanding Older Male Horse
The title of American Champion Older Male Horse is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually to a stallion or gelding, four years old and up. Prior to 1971, this award was referred to as "Champion Handicap Male Horse", and was open to any horse, three years old and up...
Bold Bidder
Bold Bidder
Bold Bidder was an American Thoroughbred racehorse.-Background:Bred by the Wheatley Stable partnership of Gladys Mills Phipps and her brother, Ogden L. Mills, Bold Bidder was sired by their very great stallion Bold Ruler, an eight-time Leading sire in North America and U.S. Racing Hall of Fame...
who would also sire the U.S. Racing Hall of Fame
National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and trainers...
great, Spectacular Bid
Spectacular Bid
Spectacular Bid was an American Thoroughbred race horse. "The Bid" as he was known was one of the most dominant gallopers of his time...
. Bold Bidder's sire was Bold Ruler
Bold Ruler
Bold Ruler was an American Thoroughbred Hall of Fame racehorse.Bred by the Wheatley Stable of Gladys Mills Phipps, Bold Ruler was foaled on April 6, 1954 at Claiborne Farm in Paris, Kentucky to Nasrullah and Miss Disco by Discovery...
, himself a Hall of Fame inductee and an eight-time Leading sire in North America
Leading sire in North America
The list below shows the leading sire of Thoroughbred racehorses in North America for each year since 1830. This is determined by the amount of prizemoney won by the sire's progeny during the year...
.
Racing at age two on the New York State circuit, Cannonade was trained by future Hall of Fame inductee, Woody Stephens
Woody Stephens
Woody Stephens was an American Thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame trainer.Born Woodford Cefis Stephens in Stanton, Kentucky, his younger brother William Ward Stephens also became a successful trainer. Woody Stephens first started in racing as a jockey at age 16 but within a few years switched...
. He was beaten twice before earning his first win then in June captured the now defunct 5½ furlong Great American Stakes at Belmont Park
Belmont Park
Belmont Park is a major thoroughbred horse-racing facility located in Elmont in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, New York, on Long Island adjoining New York City. It first opened on May 4, 1905...
. Cannonade's next significant win came in September's Aqueduct Handicap
Aqueduct Handicap
The race is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, New York. It was called the Aqueduct Handicap, but beginning in 2009, the name was changed to the Evening Attire Stakes in honor of the great grey gelding Evening Attire. He raced until he was 10 years...
at Aqueduct Racetrack
Aqueduct Racetrack
Aqueduct Racetrack is a thoroughbred horse-racing facility and racino in Ozone Park, Queens, New York. Its racing meets usually are from late October/early November through April.-History:...
followed by a third place finish in the important Champagne Stakes. His next and final win of the 1973 season came at Churchill Downs
Churchill Downs
Churchill Downs, located in Central Avenue in south Louisville, Kentucky, United States, is a Thoroughbred racetrack most famous for hosting the Kentucky Derby annually. It officially opened in 1875, and held the first Kentucky Derby and the first Kentucky Oaks in the same year. Churchill Downs...
in Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
where he won the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes
Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes
The Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually during the last week of November at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky...
.
Cannonade had a racemate named Judger who was owned by Seth Hancock's Cherry Valley Farm
Claiborne Farm
Claiborne Farm is a thoroughbred Horse breeding operation in near Paris, Kentucky. It was established in 1910, by Arthur B. Hancock, owner of Ellerslie Farm in Albemarle County, Virginia, and has been operated by members of his family ever since.-Owners:...
. In the spring of 1974, the two 3-year-old colts competed on the Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
racing circuit in the lead up to the Kentucky Derby. In the Fountain of Youth Stakes
Fountain of Youth Stakes
The Fountain of Youth Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida at the beginning of March. A Grade II event open to three-year-olds willing to race one and one-eighth miles on the dirt, it offers a purse of $400,000...
, Judger finished second but ahead of Cannonade who was unplaced. In the Flamingo Stakes
Flamingo Stakes
The Flamingo Stakes was an American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held annually in March at the Hialeah Park Race Track in Hialeah, Florida. Run over a distance of nine furlongs, the inaugural race took place in 1926 at the Tampa, Florida racetrack...
, Judger finished third but once again ahead of an unplaced Cannonade. Judger then won the important Grade I Florida Derby
Florida Derby
The Florida Derby is an American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old horses held annually at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida on the Saturday closest to the end of March or the first of April. Added to the racing schedule in 1952, the Grade 1 race is run at 1⅛ miles on the dirt...
with an improving Cannonade taking second.
1974 Kentucky Derby
In front of a record Churchills Downs crowd of 163,628, Cannonade went to the post along with twenty-two other horses in what was the largest Derby field ever. Because they shared the same trainer, Cannonade was coupled with Judger for the parimutuel wageringParimutuel betting
Parimutuel betting is a betting system in which all bets of a particular type are placed together in a pool; taxes and the "house-take" or "vig" is removed, and payoff odds are calculated by sharing the pool among all winning bets...
and the duo went off as the betting favorite. Ridden by Angel Cordero, Jr., Cannonade worked his way through the unwieldy field and was in front by the time he reached the mile pole. He never relinquished the lead, winning by 2¼ lengths but in the slow time of 2:04 on a track rated as fast. The win was the first in the Derby for both jockey Cordero and trainer Woody Stephens. Stablemate, Judger, finished a disappointing eighth.
In the remaining two legs of the American Triple Crown series, Cannonade finished third in both the Preakness Stakes
Preakness Stakes
The Preakness Stakes is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held on the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs on dirt. Colts and geldings carry 126 pounds ; fillies 121 lb...
at Pimlico Race Course
Pimlico Race Course
Pimlico Race Course is a horse racetrack in Baltimore, Maryland, most famous for hosting the Preakness Stakes. Its name is derived from the 1660s when English settlers named the area where the facility currently stands in honor of Olde Ben Pimlico's Tavern in London...
and in the Belmont Stakes
Belmont Stakes
The Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes Thoroughbred horse race held every June at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is a 1.5-mile horse race, open to three year old Thoroughbreds. Colts and geldings carry a weight of 126 pounds ; fillies carry 121 pounds...
at Belmont Park
Belmont Park
Belmont Park is a major thoroughbred horse-racing facility located in Elmont in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, New York, on Long Island adjoining New York City. It first opened on May 4, 1905...
to Darby Dan Farm's
Darby Dan Farm
Darby Dan Farm is a produce, livestock, and thoroughbred horse breeding and training farm founded in 1935 near the Darby Creek in Galloway, Ohio by businessman John W. Galbreath. Named for the creek and for Galbreath's son, Daniel M. Galbreath , it was expanded from an original farm into a 4,000...
Little Current
Little Current (horse)
Little Current was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the final two legs of the 1974 U.S. Triple Crown.-Background:Owned and bred by John W...
.
Cannonade retired after his 1974 racing season to stand at stud
Horse breeding
Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired characteristics in domesticated horses...
at Gainesway Farm. While his offspring included several stakes winners, most met with only modest success on the race track. However, Cannonade's son Caveat
Caveat (horse)
Caveat was an American thoroughbred stallion racehorse. Bred in Maryland) by Ryehill Farm, he was sired by Kentucky Derby winner Cannonade out of The Axe II mare, Cold Hearted...
was a multiple graded stakes race winner who captured the 1983 Belmont Stakes
Belmont Stakes
The Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes Thoroughbred horse race held every June at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is a 1.5-mile horse race, open to three year old Thoroughbreds. Colts and geldings carry a weight of 126 pounds ; fillies carry 121 pounds...
.
Cannonade lived until the age of twenty-two, when he had to be euthanized
Animal euthanasia
Animal euthanasia is the act of putting to death painlessly or allowing to die, as by withholding extreme medical measures, an animal suffering from an incurable, especially a painful, disease or condition. Euthanasia methods are designed to cause minimal pain and distress...
on August 3, 1993, reportedly due to infirmities of natural causes. He is buried in the Gainesway equine cemetery.