From the Darlington & Stockton Times of August 5, 1871

RICHMOND’S racing history is a theme we’ve been pursuing recently and 150 years ago this week the town welcomed home its “Goodwood Cup heroine”, according to the D&S Times.

“Shannon, who gave the talent at Goodwood such a surprise by her victory over such clinking food horses as Mortemer, the Ascot Cup winner, and Favonius, the Derby hero, arrived at Richmond on Friday night by the 8.30 train and looked none the worse for her journey,” said the paper.

Shannon was trained by James Elliott at Sylvia House, Richmond (can anyone tell us where that was?) and was owned by “a gentleman racing under the name of Mr F Mouncey”. She had been the 50-1 outsider at Goodwood but in what newspapers of the day described as “a most sensational race”, she beat Favonius – regarded as the best racehorse of the decade – by half-a-length with Mortemer a neck further back.

As Richmond liked to celebrate its equine successes, you can bet the beer flowed for many days over the summer of 1871.