Shannon (1941–1955), named Shannon II in America, was an outstanding

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...

who was inducted into the

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

. He created new racecourse records in Australia before he was sold to an American buyer who exported him to California in 1948. There Shannon equalled the world record of 1:47 for the nine

furlong A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and United States customary units equal to one-eighth of a mile, equivalent to any of 660 foot (unit), feet, 220 yards, 40 rod (unit), rods, 10 chain (unit), chains, or a ...

s (1,800 metres) in winning the Forty Niner Handicap Stakes, then one week later equalled the world record of 1:59 for a mile and a quarter (2,000 metres). Shannon was named the 1948

American Champion Older Male Horse The title of American Champion Older Dirt Male Horse is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually to a stallion or gelding, four years old and up, for performances on dirt and main track racing surfaces. In 1971, it became part of ...

. At stud in America he proved to be a good sire.

Breeding

He was by the leading sire, Midstream (GB) (sire of 39 stakes-winners that won 120 stakes races) from the race-winner, Idle Words by the good sire, Magpie (GB). Idle Words was the dam of 12 foals, of which 11 raced with 8 winners, including three stakes-winners: Bernbrook (by Midstream), won AJC

Doncaster Handicap The Doncaster Mile, registered as the Doncaster Handicap is an Australian Turf Club Group One Thoroughbred handicap race for horses three years old and older, held over 1,600 metres at Royal Randwick Racecourse, Sydney, Australia. Although the ra ...

etc., exported to US; Defame (by Delville Wood) dam of a stakes-winner; and Lysander (by Midstream), won City Tattersall's Cup.Pring, Peter; ''Analysis of Champion Racehorses'', The Thoroughbred Press, Sydney, 1977, pages: 383-390, Shannon was owned and trained by Peter Riddle who selected him from the Kia Ora Stud yearlings and paid £367 for him at the

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

yearling sales.

1945 and 1946 racebooks

File:1945 Tatts Tramway Handicap Racebook P1.jpg, 1945 Tramway Handicap racebook front cover File:1945 Tatts Tramway Handicap Racebook P2.jpg, 1945 Tramway Handicap racebook showing raceday officials File:1945 Tatts Tramway Handicap Racebook P3.jpg, 1945 Tramway Handicap racebook showing the winner, Shannon File:1945 Tatts Tramway Handicap Racebook P4.jpg, 1945 Tramway Handicap racebook starters and results File:1945 Tatts Tramway Handicap Racebook P5.jpg, 1945 Tramway Handicap racebook starters and results File:1946 AJC Warwick Stakes Racebook P1.jpg, 1946 AJC Warwick Stakes racebook front cover File:1946 AJC Campbelltown Handicap Racebook P1.jpg, 1946 AJC Campbelltown Handicap page starters and results showing the winner, Shannon File:1946 AJC Campbelltown Handicap Racebook P2.jpg, 1946 AJC Campbelltown Handicap page starters and results

Racing record

At two years: 1943-1944

He won the 1943 AJC Two-year-old Handicap, the AJC Kirkham Stakes and the 1944 AJC Sires' Produce Stakes over seven furlongs. During the season he had seven race starts for three wins, three seconds and one unplaced run.

At three years: 1944-1945

In his first three-year-old start Shannon was unplaced in the STC Flying Handicap, but then won the

Hobartville Stakes The Hobartville Stakes is an Australian Turf Club Group 2 Thoroughbred horse race, for three-year-olds at set weights, over a distance of 1400 metres. It is held at Rosehill Gardens Racecourse in Sydney, Australia in the early autumn. Prize money ...

from a very good field before he finished unplaced in the

Rosehill Guineas The Rosehill Guineas is an Australian Turf Club Group One Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds at set weights run over a distance of 2000 metres at Rosehill Gardens Racecourse in Sydney, Australia annually in March. Total prize money for t ...

and

AJC Derby The Australian Derby is an Australian Turf Club Group One, Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds at set weights held at Randwick Racecourse, Sydney, Australia in April, during the Autumn Australian Turf Club, ATC Championships Carniv ...

. Shannon did not have another race start for ten months.

At four years: 1945-1946

He started as a four-year-old, with in the AJC Campbelltown Handicap over 6 furlongs, which he won at long odds. Next he met and defeated the great mare

Flight Flight or flying is the motion (physics), motion of an Physical object, object through an atmosphere, or through the vacuum of Outer space, space, without contacting any planetary surface. This can be achieved by generating aerodynamic lift ass ...

at even weights in the Tattersalls NSW Tramway Handicap. His win in the STC Hill Stakes made him the favourite for the AJC

Epsom Handicap The Epsom Handicap is an Australian Turf Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race for horses three years old and older, under handicap conditions over a distance of 1,600 metres at Randwick Racecourse, Sydney, Australia in early October. Prize money i ...

. After a good race, Shannon was the winner by a neck from Melhero, and Silent the same distance away in third place. After four starts and four wins for the season Flight relegated him into second place in the Craven Plate. Shannon was then spelled (rested) during the autumn and winter.

At five years: 1946-1947

As a five-year-old Shannon repeated his Campbelltown Handicap win carrying and at his next start had a win in the Theo Marks Quality Handicap. Shannon is probably best remembered for not winning the Epsom Handicap that season, when he appeared to be unbeatable. As a short-priced favourite for the 1946 Epsom Handicap, Shannon missed the start and did not move from his starting position until the rest of the field had travelled about a hundred metres. Despite the setback his jockey,

Darby Munro David Hugh "Darby" Munro (5 March 1913 – 3 April 1966) also known as "the Demon" or the "Brown Bomber" was an Aboriginal Australian jockey born in Caulfield. He was a three-time winner of the Melbourne Cup. He has been described as "arguab ...

took off after the field and failed only by half a head to catch the winner Blue Legend, and just past the post he was in front. On his return to scale Munro was given a hostile reception for his ride in the race, it was later disclosed that the starter had failed to see that Shannon was not facing up.Hutchinson, Garrie (editor); Carlyon, Les (introduction), 1999, ''They're Racing: The Complete Story of Australian Racing'', Viking, Melbourne, p. 154, Two days later, he won the

George Main Stakes The King Charles III Stakes (formerly known as the George Main Stakes), is an Australian Turf Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race run under Weight for Age conditions, over a distance of 1600 metres at Randwick Racecourse, Sydney, Australia in S ...

in an Australasian record time of 1.34½ by six lengths from Flight with Magnificent a further four lengths away in third place. The next Saturday, Shannon defeated Flight in the King's Cup which included Russia, who won the

Melbourne Cup The Melbourne Cup is an annual Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race held in Melbourne, Australia, at the Flemington Racecourse. It is a 3200-metre race for three-year-olds and older, conducted by the Victoria Racing Club that forms part of the ...

four weeks later.

At six years: 1947-1948

When his owner-trainer died he was

auction An auction is usually a process of Trade, buying and selling Good (economics), goods or Service (economics), services by offering them up for Bidding, bids, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder or buying the item from th ...

ed in Sydney and purchased by W.J. Smith for £27,300. Shannon only raced four more times in Australia, in the next spring to register two wins, in the

Canterbury Stakes The Canterbury Stakes is an Australian Turf Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race for horses aged three years old and upwards at weight for age, over a distance of 1300 metres, held annually at Randwick Racecourse in Sydney, Australia, in March. H ...

and

, and a second in the Warwick Stakes. Shannon was again sold again in early 1948, this time to

America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

n Neil McCarthy for a reported £52,000. His last start in Australia ended in defeat with him finishing second to

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

in the 1947 AJC Craven Plate. Shannon was one of the best middle-distance horses to race in Australia with a tally of 25 starts in Australia for 14 wins including prominent wins in the AJC

and the AJC Sires Produce Stakes.

Racing in the United States

In 1948 new owner Neil McCarthy of

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, entrusted Shannon's race conditioning to trainer William Molter. At

Hollywood Park Racetrack Hollywood Park was a thoroughbred horse racing, race course located in Inglewood, California, about 3 miles (5 km) from Los Angeles International Airport and adjacent to The Forum (Inglewood, California), the Forum indoor arena. In 1994, t ...

in June, Shannon won the Argonaut Handicap and then, on 17 July, won the most prestigious race of his American career: the

Hollywood Gold Cup The Hollywood Gold Cup Stakes is a Grade II American thoroughbred horse race for horses age three and older over a distance of miles on the dirt held at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California in May. The race currently offers a purse of $200,000 ...

. At

Golden Gate Fields Golden Gate Fields was an American horse racing race track, track straddling both Albany, California and Berkeley, California along the shoreline of San Francisco Bay adjacent to the Eastshore Freeway in the San Francisco Bay Area. With the closi ...

on 17 October 1948, Shannon equalled the world record of 1:47 for the nine furlongs (1,800 metres) in winning the Forty Niner Handicap Stakes, then just one week later at the same track equalled the world record of 1:59 for a mile and a quarter (2,000 metres) while capturing the Golden Gate Handicap. In America he was second to

Citation A citation is a reference to a source. More precisely, a citation is an abbreviated alphanumeric expression embedded in the body of an intellectual work that denotes an entry in the bibliographic references section of the work for the purpose o ...

with Shannon being the leading money earner in his division.Montgomery, E.S, ''The Thoroughbred'', Arco, New York, 1973 In November he won his last race, the San Francisco Handicap at

Tanforan Racetrack Tanforan Racetrack, also known as Tanforan Park, was a thoroughbred horse racing facility in San Bruno on the San Francisco Peninsula in California. It operated from November 4, 1899, to 1964. The horse racing track and buildings were constructe ...

. Shannon was named the 1948

in a poll conducted by ''Turf and Sports Digest'' magazine. The equivalent award in rival ''

Daily Racing Form The ''Daily Racing Form'' (DRF) (referred to as the ''Racing Form'' or "Form" and sometimes "telegraph" or "telly") is a tabloid newspaper founded in 1894 in Chicago, Illinois, by Frank Brunell. The paper publishes the past performances of rac ...

'' poll was "Champion Handicap Horse" and included three-year-olds: it was won by Citation.

Stud record

Sold for

US$ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...

300,000 to a

breeding Breeding is sexual reproduction that produces offspring, usually animals or plants. It can only occur between a male and a female animal or plant. Breeding may refer to: * Animal husbandry, through selected specimens such as dogs, horses, and rab ...

syndicate led by Leslie Combs II, Shannon was retired to

stud Stud may refer to: Animals * Stud (animal), an animal retained for breeding ** Stud farm, a property where livestock are bred Arts and entertainment * Stud (band), a British progressive rock group * The Stud (bar), a gay bar in San Francisco * ...

duty and stood alongside another Australian champion Bernborough at Combs'

Spendthrift Farm Spendthrift Farm is a thoroughbred race horse breeding farm and burial site in Lexington, Kentucky, currently owned by Eric & Tammy Gustavson. It was founded by Leslie Combs II and named for the great stallion Spendthrift, who was owned by Combs ...

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city coterminous with and the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the city's population was 322,570, making it the List of ...

, where he had a successful career as a sire. Eleven of his first crop yearlings averaged $11,755 each. The best of his progeny were

Clem Clem may refer to: Places * Clem, Oregon, United States, an unincorporated community * Clem, West Virginia, United States, an unincorporated community * Clem Nunatak, a nunatak in the Ross Dependency, Antarctica Other uses * Clem (hill), a categ ...

($535,681) who defeated

Round Table The Round Table (; ; ; ) is King Arthur's famed table (furniture), table in the Arthurian legend, around which he and his knights congregate. As its name suggests, it has no head, implying that everyone who sits there has equal status, unlike co ...

in track record time in the

Washington Park Handicap The Washington Park Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually during the first week of September at Arlington Park Racetrack in Arlington Heights, Illinois. A Grade III event open to horses age three and older, it is conteste ...

, and Sea O Erin ($407,259), who won the

Citation Handicap The Seabiscuit Handicap is a Grade II American Thoroughbred horse race for three-years-old and older over a distance of one and one-sixteenth miles ( furlongs) on the turf track scheduled annually in late November at Del Mar Racetrack in Del M ...

and 18 other races. Shannon sired the winners of more than $4 million while he was at stud in Kentucky. In 1955, Shannon broke a leg and was humanely

euthanized Animal euthanasia (euthanasia from ; "good death") is the act of killing an animal humanely, most commonly with injectable drugs. Reasons for euthanasia include incurable (and especially painful) conditions or diseases, lack of resources to con ...

. He is buried in an unmarked grave at Green Gates Farm, which was formerly part of

Honours

Shannon was the American Co-Champion Older Male Horse, along with

, in 1948. He was inducted into the

Australian Racing Hall of Fame The Australian Racing Hall of Fame is part of the Australian Racing Museum which documents and honours the horse racing, horseracing legends of Australia. The museum officially opened in 1981 and created the Hall of Fame in 2000. The numbers i ...

on 4 July 2006. The Shannon Stakes named in his honour is held annually at

Rosehill Gardens Racecourse The Rosehill Gardens Racecourse is located in the Sydney suburb of Rosehill, New South Wales, Australia. It is operated by the Australian Turf Club. Rosehill holds horse races for thoroughbred gallopers on a grass surface. It is one of the t ...

References

{{Reflist

External links

Time magazine December 13, 1948 article on Shannon

Shannon at the Australian Racing Museum Hall of Fame

Shannon's pedigree and racing stats
1941 racehorse births 1955 racehorse deaths Australian Racing Hall of Fame horses American Champion racehorses Racehorses bred in Australia Racehorses trained in Australia Racehorses trained in the United States Thoroughbred family 8-g