The Iron Horse – Sentinel
In a 46 year history, the greatest ‘Cape Flyer’ is surely the ‘Iron Horse’ Sentinel, who won the race for three years in succession from 1973.
Other multiple winners were Free Enterprise, Signor Amigo, Flobayou, Cordocelli, Laisserfaire, Nhlavini and present day Drakenstein stallion, What A Winter.
The Cape Flying Championship was launched in 1969 over the Milnerton 1000m course and run for a stake of R4000.
On Saturday, R1 million is up for grabs.
The race was switched to Kenilworth from 1996 and the brilliant Eric Sands trained Flobayou thus holds a rare distinction of being the only horse to win the Gr1 sprint at both Milnerton and Kenilworth.
The late Theo De Klerk, a true gentleman of Cape trainers, saddled the very first winner Benzol for his wife Lavinia.
But that Iron Horse Sentinel’s statistics tell the true story of resilience, bravery and versatility.
From 56 starts, he recorded 29 wins – with 12 Grade 1s and 21 places. Racing from two to seven years of age between 1971 and 1975, he travelled throughout the country and won at eight different racecourses from 1000m to 1600m.
The 1975 Jack Stubbs Memorial (then the name of the Cape Flying Championship) over 1000m at Milnerton is remembered by many as the cherry atop a fabulous career for Sentinel.
On a perfect Cape summer day, seven-year-old Sentinel whipped talented speedster Harry Hotspur, with two other precocious youngsters way back in third and fourth -Archangel and Yataghan.
Jet Master – 2000 Gr1 Cape Flying Championship winner
The brilliant Jet Master won the race in 2000 and his magnificent daughter Fly By Night looks set to emulate her illustrious Dad on Saturday when she takes on the boys in the hands of Bernard Fayd’herbe.
The ill-fated longstanding SA Champion sire Jet Master was the undisputed king among the milers, but used the 2000 Cape Flying Championship to prove that, given the right programme, he could also have been one of our greatest sprinters.
Owned by Henry and Pat Devine, the huge entire had continued to blossom after switching from the care of Tony Millard to Geoff Woddruff and facing an assembly of the Cape’s best sprinters, he started at 7-10 for the 2000 Cape Flying Championship and lifted eyebrows in the grandstand as he took them on at their own game.
Anton Marcus who rode Jet Master that day, returns from his recent thumb injury to partner Charles Laird’s Normanz on Saturday.
For fans of the three classy female Gr1 runners in Fly By Night, Alboran Sean and Carry On Alice, that take on the ten males on Saturday, the past record of the girls will make for happy reading.
Via Africa – won in 2013
Var’s champion daughter Via Africa won the race last year, while yet another Var star in Val De Ra won it two years prior to that.
The Australian-bred Laisserfaire won the race in consecutive years in 2001 and 2002.
In earlier years, Alec Soteriadis trained the Scott Brothers bred Leta under John Garcia to win in 1970.
It was to be eleven years before the fillies would strike again.
Mike Bass, who really has an outstanding win and place record in this Gr1 showpiece saddled the brilliant Sweet Chestnut to win the race in 1981.
Paarl based Glen Kotzen sent out Nobely Born in 1997.
The Honour Roll:
2014 Via Africa
2013 What A Winter
2012 Val De Ra
2011 What A Winter
2010 Warm White Night
2009 Rebel King
2008 O Caesour
2007 Mythical Flight
2006 Nhlavini
2005 Nhlavini
2004 Tobe Or Nottobe
2003 Eli’s Game
2002 Laisserfaire
2001 Laisserfaire
2000 Jet Master
1999 Cordocelli
1998 Cordocelli
1997 Nobely Born
1996 Flobayou
1995 Flobayou
1994 Best Of The Best
1993 Signor Amigo
1992 Signor Amigo
1991 Alnwick
1990 Simonside
1989 Springing Leopard
1988 Wexford Boy
1987 (Equine Flu)
1986 Lord Randolph
1985 Tucaman
1984 Green Silver
1983 Foreign Ambassador
1981 War Ribbon
1981 Sweet Chestnut
1980 Tucson
1979 Lovely Rhythm
1978 Monastery
1977 Free Enterprise
1976 Free Enterprise
1975 Sentinel
1974 Sentinel
1973 Sentinel
1972 Captain Bell
1971 Prairie Prince
1970 Leta
1969 Benzol
