Repeat of last race would make Shannon C formidable in Highland Ice Stakes

Shannon C is a talented horse as a multiple stakes winner of nearly $400,000, but even he outran expectations last month when he dominated a Will Rogers Downs stakes race in his first start in five months. He will be shooting for a second consecutive stakes win at the meet Tuesday in the $50,000 Highland Ice.

The Highland Ice is for 3-year-olds and up over six furlongs. A field of five has been assembled for the race, including Best of Greeley, a winner of two allowances in his last three starts, and Dame Plata, who boasts a career record of 10 for 26.

Shannon C is moving into open company after rolling home by two lengths in the six-furlong TRAO Classic Sprint for Oklahoma-breds on April 12. The 5-2 second choice, he broke on top, dueled through a half-mile in 44.98 seconds, and kept going to win in a sharp 1:10.26. The Beyer Speed Figure of 88 that Shannon C earned is the best last-race number in the Highland Ice.

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“We were awfully proud of him,” trainer Scott Young said. “Our biggest concern was that he had missed one work due to the weather. But he just finds a way. He ran huge off the layoff, and I expect as good or better of a performance Tuesday.”

Shannon C has worked smartly since the win, going three-eighths in 37.60 seconds April 26 at Will Rogers.

“We did a maintenance breeze, and he could not have worked any better,” Young said.

Shannon C went on his usual vacation near the end of the Remington Park season last fall. Shannon C, 7, is by Latent Heat and out of Miranda Diane, a multiple stakes winner at Will Rogers. He is owned by his breeders, B & S Racing.

“They always give him time off,” Young said. “They take him back to Springfield, Mo., and he enjoys farm life for a while.”

Shannon C then lets everyone know when it’s time to head back to his life at the track, Young said.

“He’s just a cool horse,” he said. “He wants attention. If you give another horse too much attention, he’ll paw. He wants to be the first one out to train. He knows he’s special and he wants everyone else to know he’s special, too.”

Shannon C will break from post 2 under Leandro Goncalves.

Best of Greeley won a Sam Houston allowance March 3 and a Will Rogers allowance two starts later on April 13. That was his first start at Will Rogers.

Floyd Wethey Jr. has the mount from post 3 for Greg Frye and Young.

Haydens Havoc invades from Fonner Park, where he ran second by three-quarters of a length in the Tondi on March 26. The winner of that race, Its a Wrap, was entered to run back Saturday at Fonner in the $75,000 Bosselman Pump and Pantry/Gus Fonner Stakes.