Saint Cecelia, the talented chestnut filly now a mare by Burning Marque – She’s On Wheels, waltzed into the hearts of many with her brilliance each time she graced the track at Cayamanas Park.

One individual that was hooked on St Cecelia and whose position was ignited was her regular rider Shane Ellis. What makes Ellis’s connection to St Cecelia so extraordinary and emotional is the fact that he was aboard St Cecelia on her first and her last career starts.

“Right now, she [ St Cecelia] is one of or even the best horse that I have ridden in Jamaica so far in my long career. She was a very good racehorse; she was very versatile as she could easily do a mile.

“I was aboard St Cecelia from day one, from her maiden win and in the last race she won. She was a very special horse, not only just to me but the public as well,” Ellis said.

Although St Cecelia is regarded as one of the greatest sprinters of all time, the talented filly was able to win up to 10-furlongs, albeit in age group company.

“I rode her in the Jamaica Derby and I knew that it was difficult for her to get the 12-furlong trip, but she did her thing and had a say in the race. Don’t forget that she won the Jamaica Oaks over 10-furlongs,” Ellis reminded.

St Cecelia galloped her way into history when she set the record for the most consecutive victories by any horse at Caymanas Park. St Cecelia won 14 consecutive races, including wins in the Gold Cup and a record-equalling four consecutive victories in the Caribbean Sprint Championships.

St Cecelia won the six-furlong Sprint from 2010 to 2013. Winston Griffiths partnered St Cecelia to her first Sprint win and Ellis was aboard for the next three.

The other horse who won four consecutive Caribbean Sprint Championships was Eros. Eros won the Sprint from 1991 to 1994, but has the distinction of returning in 1996 for another victory. Eros’s five wins still remains the overall record for the race.

St Cecelia performed her last duties at Caymanas Park on November 9, 2013 in the Sprint.

Ridden by Ellis, St Cecelia, breaking from the number one stall, was hustled to take the lead and soon began to draw way from rivals going into the half-mile (800m) turn. By the time the rest of the field got going, St Cecelia was gone, cruising home by one-and-a-half lengths with splits of 22.3 and 45.0 for a final time of 1:11.2.

“Her [ St Cecelia] performances in the three Sprint Championship races that I was aboard were excellent. It was just pure and amazing talent. St Cecelia was an all-time champion; a Hall of Famer and a wonderful racehorse who touched every bone in me.

“She wasn’t difficult to ride; she was one of the nicest horses for anyone to ride. All you needed to do after leaving the gates was to just hold on tight and don’t let go,” Ellis said.

S t Cecelia was bred by Ham Stables Limited, owned by Robert Chung and WPV Chung, and trained by Spencer Chung.