Colin Jillings

An "Ellerslie boy", Colin Jillings became an apprentice jockey at the age of 12 (1943). He would catch the train to school St Peter's College, Auckland each day after earlier riding trackwork at the Ellerslie Racecourse.[3]

He was a successful apprentice jockey before increasing weight brought a premature end to a promising career.[3] His biggest success as an apprentice was the 1946 Railway Stakes aboard Royal Scot, (a race he would later win 3 times as a trainer).

When he retired he had amassed a total of 1327 NZ winners, 703 of those with long time training partner Richard Yuill.[2]

When asked to name the best horse he ever trained Jillings had no hesitation in labelling Stipulate, the champion stayer of his era in the early 1960s. The fact that he had no hesitation in labelling Stipulate speaks volumes for the regard Jillings had for the horse given that he also trained the super little horse of the early 1980's - McGinty.

Jillings biggest success came when he trained The Phantom Chance to win the 1993 W. S. Cox Plate. Although operating with a smaller team, than most other trainers, Jillings managed to keep producing top horses year after year.[4]

He trained the first of 4 Auckland Cup winners in 1956 Yemen, followed by Stipulate (1963), Perhaps (1976) and Irish Chance (in partnership with Richard Yuill) in 1999. He also achieved the unique record of training a Derby winner in each of the last 5 decades of the 20th Century: his first Derby winner being Lawful (1958) followed by Stipulate (1960), Uncle Remus (1977), I'm Henry (1983) and The Phantom Chance (1992).

Notable horses he trained included:

• Athenia, winner of the New Zealand Oaks for his good friend T.J. (Tommy) Smith.
• Beauzami, winner of the New Zealand Cup.
• Diamond Lover, winner of the 1987 Railway Stakes.
• Gay Filou, winner of the Wellington Cup.
• I'm Henry, winner of the New Zealand Derby, Avondale Guineas, Great Northern Guineas, Wellington Derby and Waikato Guineas in the 1983/84 season.
• Irish Chance, winner of the 1999 Auckland Cup.
• McGinty, winner of the Air New Zealand Stakes (twice), Rawson Stakes, Canterbury Guineas, Caulfield Stakes and George Adams Handicap.
• Old Son, winner of the Ellerslie Sires Produce Stakes for himself and his good friend, Pukekohe market gardener, Pabu Daya.
• Perhaps, winner of the 1976 Auckland Cup.
• Pipe Dream, winner of the 1962 Railway Stakes.
• Sharivari, winner of the 1971 Railway Stakes.
• Stipulate.
• Sugaratariat, winner of the Ellerslie Sires Produce Stake.
• The Phantom Chance, winner of the New Zealand Derby and Cox Plate.
• Tycoon Lil, winner of the 1997 New Zealand 1000 Guineas, 1998 New Zealand Oaks & Canterbury Guineas. Also 2nd and 3rd behind Might And Power in the 1998 Yalumba Stakes and Cox Plate.
• Uncle Remus.
• Yeman, winner of the Auckland Cup and Wellington Cup.

In his earlier years from limited runners, he was also a noted trainer of jumpers, winning 1959 Grand National Hurdles with Armed (owned by himself); the 1971 Great Northern Hurdles/Steeples double, and 1972 Great Northern Steeplechase, with Brockton (for great friend, Wellington businessman, Doug Tse) and the 1987 Great Northern Steeples with DeductAble, in partnership with Richard Yuill (with both sharing the ownership).

Jillings was also a noted mentor of apprentices, the best being his long time stable jockey Bob Vance who was the rider of:

• McGinty.
• 3 New Zealand Derby winners for Jillings: Uncle Remus, I'm Henry and The Phantom Chance. He also won the Derby with Isle Of Man for Davina Waddell.
• The Phantom Chance in the Cox Plate.

Vance won the NZ Jockeys Premiership, as an apprentice (1977/78) and had a successful career riding internationally in Hong Kong and Macau.

Other apprentices for Jillings were:

• Samantha Spratt: one of NZ's most successful female riders.
• Mark Sweeney: 3 Auckland Cup wins.
• Daniel Southworth: winner of the New Zealand 1000 Guineas and Railway Stakes.

• Thoroughbred racing in New Zealand

• Glengarry, Jack (1983). The Great Decade of NZ Racing 1970 – 1980. Auckland: Collins.
• Glengarry, Jack (1990). Another Great Decade of NZ Racing 1980 – 1990. Auckland: Collins.