Descarado is on track for a Cox Plate 2011 run after winning the Group 1 Caulfield Stakes today October 8, 2011.
The Gai Waterhouse-trained five-year-old turned around his racing performance with a win after finishing a disappointing ninth in the Group 2 Shannon Stakes last…
The Shannon Stakes is a Group 2 thoroughbred race held towards the end of the exciting Sydney Spring Racing Carnival on Gloaming Stakes Day in September. Conducted at the picturesque Rosehill Gardens Racecourse, there are four quality Group races at the meeting. They are the Group 3 Gloaming Stakes (1800m),Group 2 Tea Rose Stakes (1500m), Group 2 Hill Stakes (1900m) and the Group 2 Shannon Stakes.
The Shannon Stakes is a middle-distance event raced over 1500m. A quality handicap for three-year-olds and up, it offers $150 000 in stakes. There are a number of earlier races held at the carnival that Shannon Stakes contenders may have previously run in including the Group 2 Theo Marks Stakes (1300m) the previous week, Group 3 Tramway Quality Handicap (1400m) a fortnight before at Randwick and the Group 3 The Run To The Rose (1300m) in mid-August.
The Shannon Stakes is the ideal lead-up race to the prestigious Group 1 Epsom Handicap (1600m) in two weeks time at Randwick. Some quality runners have claimed victory in the Shannon Stakes including Al Mansour (2000), Armed For Action (1998) and Juggler (1996).
| Shannon Stakes | |
|---|---|
| Date: | September |
| Track: | Rosehill Gardens Racecourse |
| Distance: | 1500m |
| Conditions: | 3YO & Up – Quality Handicap |
| Status: | Group 2 |
| Prize Money: | $150 000 |
| Inaugurated: | 1978 |
Named in honour of the brilliant Hollywood Gold Cup victor and Hall of Fame inductee Shannon, the Shannon Stakes was first run in 1978 as a Principal race run over 1500m and For All Season was the inaugural winner. The following year in 1979 the race status was increased to a Listed event and the distance was decreased to 1400m. In 1985 it was installed as a Group 3 race and the length was increased back to the original distance of 1500m. Finally in 2001 the Shannon Stakes was elevated to its current Group 2 status and for one year was run over 1400m. The next year in 2002 the distance reverted back to 1500m again. The race was not held in 2007 due to an outbreak of the equine influenza.
| Shannon Stakes Records | |
|---|---|
| Race Record (1500m): | 1:28.09 set by the Sportsman in 2003 |
| Heaviest Weight Carried to Victory: | 60kg by Juggler in 1996 |
| Lightest Weight Carried to Victory: | 48.5kg For All Seasons in 1978 |
| Most Successful Jockeys: | Two jockeys have won the Shannon Stakes four times. R. Quinton with For All Seasons (1978), Dalmacia (1982), Eastern Bay (1984) and Never Quit ( 1987). L. Beasley with Quick Flick (1997), Al Mansour (2000), On Type (2001) and Lotteria (2005). |
| Year | Place | Horse | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 Shannon Stakes |
1st | Firebolt | 1 minute 28.54 seconds |
| 2nd | Centennial Park | ||
| 3rd | Sacred Choice | ||
| 2009 Shannon Stakes |
1st | Drumbeats | 1 minute 30.1 seconds |
| 2nd | Rangirangdoo | ||
| 3rd | Strat’s Flyer | ||
| 2008 Shannon Stakes |
1st | Musket | 1 minute 30.56 seconds |
| 2nd | Black Piranha | ||
| 3rd | Ice Chariot | ||
| 2007 Shannon Stakes |
Race Not Held | ||
| 2006 Shannon Stakes |
1st | Stormhill | 1 minute 28.43 seconds |
| 2nd | Temple Hills | ||
| 3rd | Newton’s Rings | ||
| 2005 Shannon Stakes |
1st | Lotteria | 1 minute 30.21 seconds |
| 2nd | Studebaker | ||
| 3rd | Swick | ||
| 2004 Shannon Stakes |
1st | Nips | 1 minute 28.27 seconds |
| 2nd | Whoc | ||
| 3rd | Irongail | ||
| 2003 Shannon Stakes |
1st | Sportsman | 1 minute 28.09 seconds |
| 2nd | Amex | ||
| 3rd | Nips | ||
| 2002 Shannon Stakes |
1st | Gordo | 1 minute 29.7 seconds |
| 2nd | Shot Of Thunder | ||
| 3rd | Evander | ||
| 2001 Shannon Stakes |
1st | On Type | 1 minute 22.42 seconds |
| 2nd | Century Kid | ||
| 3rd | Diamond Dane | ||
| 2000 Shannon Stakes |
1st | Al Mansour | 1 minute 29.5 seconds |
| 2nd | Chinhoyi | ||
| 3rd | Varicool | ||
