Poseidon (horse)

Poseidon
Poseidon, 1906 AJC & VRC Derby winner
Sire	Positano (GB)
Dam	Jacinth
Damsire	Martini-Henry (NZ)
Sex	Stallion
Foaled	1903
Country	Australia
Colour	Brown
Breeder	Richard Halifax Dangar (Neotsfield Stud)
Owner	Sir Hugh Denison
Trainer	Isaac Earnshaw
Record	33: 19-4-3
Earnings	£19,946
Major wins
Melbourne Cup (1906) Caulfield Cup (1906, 1907) AJC Derby (1906) Victoria Derby (1906) VRC St Leger Stakes (1907) Melbourne Stakes (1907) AJC Plate (1908) Rawson Stakes (1908)
Awards
Australian Racing Hall of Fame (2004 inductee)
Honours
VRC Poseidon Stakes
Last updated on 12 March 2010

Poseidon (19 August 1903 - 3 February 1930) was an Australian Thoroughbred Hall of Fame racehorse. He won 19 races over distances ranging from five furlongs to three miles. Sixteen of these wins were "Principal Races" (equivalent to today's "Black Type" races), eight of them now of Group 1 (G1) status.

As a three-year-old in 1906/07, Poseidon had 14 starts for 11 wins, including the Caulfield Cup (in race record time), Melbourne Cup, Victoria Derby and AJC Derby. In achieving this, Poseidon became the first horse to complete the Caulfield Cup-Melbourne Cup double. In winning the Caulfield Cup again the following year, he also became the first horse to win consecutive Caulfield Cups.

Poseidon was foaled on 19 August 1903 at R H Dangar's Neotsfield Stud in NSW. He was from the fifth crop of his sire Positano (GB) and was the fifth foal of his dam Jacinth, a daughter of Martini-Henry (NZ), winner of 1883 VRC Melbourne Cup. Positano, a son of the great St. Simon, was unplaced in his seven starts in England, although he was placed second in the Ascot Derby. After he was imported into Australia he won three races from 12 starts. Jacinth won five races and was the dam of 11 foals, seven of whom raced for five moderate winners, aside from Poseidon.

At the dispersal of the Neotsfield Stud, Poseidon was sold to the Moses brothers as a foal at foot with his dam for 400 guineas. The Moses brothers went on to establish the Arrowfield Stud near Singleton, NSW. Interested only in the dam and not the foal at foot, Poseidon was later sold to owner, Sir Hugh Denison for 500 guineas at the April 1905 Chisholm and Co Yearling Sales in Sydney.