Debrett's Peerage & Baronetage 2008

Book excerpt: The extraordinary life of Australia's first international racehorse, from creating new records in Australia to his life in California, where he won the Hollywood Gold Cup In wartime Sydney, a small and weedy racehorse kicked his way through the top tier of Australian racing. He was Shannon, one of the fastest horses the nation had ever seen. Between 1943 and 1947, Shannon broke record after record with his garrulous jockey Darby Munro. When they sensationally lost the Epsom Handicap by six inches, they forever were stamped by the race they didn't win. Sold in August 1947 for the highest price ever paid at auction for an Australian thoroughbred, Shannon ended up in America. Through headline-snatching pedigree flaws, acclimatization, and countless hardships, he blitzed across the ritzy, glitzy racetracks of 1948 California. Smashing track records, world records, and records set by Seabiscuit, the Australian bolted into world fame with speed and courage that defied all odds. Long before Black Caviar, So You Think, and Takeover Target, Shannon was Australia's first international racehorse. Starring Hall of Fame trainers and jockeys, Hollywood lawyers, and legends Bernborough and Citation, this is his tremendous story.