The Legacy Of Sentinel

The news that the Sentinel Stakes is to be run at Clairwood in the near future, has once again shone the spotlight on the horse dubbed the “Iron horse” by many for his incredible racing exploits. He recorded 29 wins, 12 of them Grade Ones and he was placed 21 times. At one time, he was the country’s leading sprinter and his thrilling duels with In Full Flight during the 1972-1973 season stirred the imagination of the racing public.

Between 1971 and 1975 Sentinel travelled the country winning at various racecourses over distances ranging from 1000m to 1600m. Something which has never been achieved by any other South African racehorse to date.

Sentinel was bred here in KZN by the Ellis family, who at one time owned the Hartford farm, now part of the internationally renowned breeding operation of Summerhill Stud. Raymond Ellis was a renowned horse breeder in his own right, having bred the likes of Panjandrum, Cape Heath and the legendary Mowgli. Sentinel was out of Winter’s Eve, a two-time winner and daughter of the standout Oppenheimer stallion Wilwyn. His father was the American bred, No Reprieve, who was Ellis’ next great hope for breeding success. Sadly he didn’t live up to expectations, throwing only a few stakes winners.

Much of Sentinel’s success came on a tiny jockey nicknamed “Muis” Roberts who like his charge went on to become a champion. Some of Sentinel and Muis’ best success came when they beat the likes of In Full Flight and Elevation in the Group 1 SA Guineas at Greyville. His rivalry with In Full Flight produced some memorable contests, the one that stands out for many is the 1972 Cape Guineas, where he tied with his rival in a dead heat. Sadly his quest to capture the Queen’s Plate was to remain unfulfilled as he lost to In Full Flight.

No sprint distance in the country was safe from Sentinel, and he was obviously suited to sprinting distances, his victories in the Cape Flying Championship, the Drill Hall Stakes, the Newbury, the Concord and the Woolavington Cup bore this out. He became the country’s leading stakes earner and sprinter earning an incredible R207.930 (a massive sum of money in those days!).

It seemed that no race track was safe when Sentinel was running and he proved this when he won the Hawaai Stakes (Gr.1) at the legendarily tough Turffontein course in 1972. He followed this up a year later with another win at the same course in the Transvaal Champion Stakes.

In spite of all the travelling he did, Sentinel calmly adapted to his surroundings, giving fully of himself and never appearing to be fazed by anything thrown at him. His finest hour came in 1975 when, as a 7YO he trounced an impressively talented field of the likes of Harry Hotspur, Archangel and Yataghan.

Despite all of his success at the track, Sentinel failed to make a real impression on the breeding landscape. His daughter the filly Protectress who came second in the SA Oaks in 1975 was the only one of his progeny who achieved worthwhile success. He ended his days at Hartford Farm where he became a companion to the weaned foals.