The best racehorse of a vintage crop, Colin was one of four horses regarded as the very best American runners produced in the first half of the 20th century: the others were Sysonby, Man o' War and Citation. He never knew defeat, though he was pressed to his limits when defeating Fair Play by a head in the 1908 Belmont Stakes. Colin proved subfertile at stud but nonetheless managed to continue the male line of his grandsire Domino.
Race record
15 starts, 15 wins, 0 seconds, 0 thirds, US$180,912
1907:
1908:
Honors
Assessments
Colin was rated #15 among the top 100 American racehorses of the 20th century by an expert panel assembled by The Blood-Horse (Thoroughbred Champions, Eclipse Press, 7th printing, 2005).
As an individual
A handsome, good-sized, well-balanced brown horse, Colin was flawed by an enlarged hock. He was masculine rather than refined and was powerfully muscled, especially through the hindquarters. Contemporary records are contradictory but suggest that he suffered a tendon injury in one or both forelegs prior to running in the Belmont. He had brilliant acceleration but tended to loaf when on the lead. He had a calm temperament.
As a stallion
According to The Blood-Horse, Colin sired 48 winners (53.2%) and 11 stakes winners (13.6%) from 81 named foals; Anne Peters' article at the Thoroughbred Heritage website credits him with 83 foals. He initially stood in England but got little patronage there, siring only 14 foals in 1909-1913. Following his return to the USA in the summer of 1913, he proved markedly subfertile. None of his progeny approached his own class.
Sire rankings
Per The Blood-Horse:
Notable progeny
Jock (USA), Neddie (USA), On Watch (USA)
Notable progeny of daughters
He Did (USA), Healy (USA), Late Date (USA), Rosemont (USA)
Connections
Colin was bred and owned by James R. Keene. He was trained by James Rowe, Sr. Colin was transferred to Sam Darling in England following the Tidal Stakes but was never sound enough to race at 4. He stood in England in 1909-1913 before being sold to Wickliffe Stud for US$30,000 during the dispersal of Keene's Castleton Stud. Colin was purchased by E. B. McLean when Wickliffe Stud dispersed in 1918 and remained in his ownership until the horse was humanely destroyed at Captain Raymond Belmont's Belray Farm in the summer of 1932.
Pedigree notes
Colin is outcrossed through five generations. His half sister Verdure (a daughter of Peter Pan, by Commando) produced 1920 Metropolitan Handicap winner Wildair (by Broomstick) and is the ancestress of 1954 Kentucky Oaks winner Fascinator. Another half sister, Passan (by Hamburg), produced five stakes winners including 1918 Spinaway Stakes winner Passing Shower (by Ormondale) and 1924 Metropolitan Handicap winner Laurano (by Peter Pan).
Pastorella, the dam of Colin, was a juvenile stakes winner in England. She was produced from the Strathconan mare Griselda, a half sister to Energetic (by Lord Lyon), dam of 1901 Prix du Jockey Club (French Derby) winner Ermak (by Farfadet).
Books and media
Fun facts
Last updated: July 16, 2022
Race record
15 starts, 15 wins, 0 seconds, 0 thirds, US$180,912
1907:
- Won National Stallion Stakes (USA, 5FD, Belmont; new track record :58)
- Won Eclipse Stakes (USA, 5.5FD, Belmont)
- Won Great Trial Stakes (USA, 6FD, Sheepshead Bay)
- Won Brighton Junior Stakes (USA, 6FD, Brighton Beach)
- Won Saratoga Special (USA, 6FD, Saratoga)
- Won Grand Union Hotel Stakes (USA, 6FD, Saratoga)
- Won Futurity Stakes (USA, 6FD, Sheepshead Bay)
- Won Flatbush Stakes (USA, 7FD, Coney Island)
- Won Produce Stakes (second half) (USA, 6FD, Brighton Beach)
- Won Matron Stakes (USA, 6FD, Belmont)
- Won Champagne Stakes (USA, 7FD, Belmont)
1908:
- Won Withers Stakes (USA, 8FD, Belmont)
- Won Belmont Stakes (USA, 11FD, Belmont)
- Won Tidal Stakes (USA, 10FD, Sheepshead Bay)
Honors
- National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame (inducted in 1956)
- American Horse of the Year (1907, 1908)
- American champion 2-year-old male (1907)
- American champion 3-year-old male (1908)
Assessments
Colin was rated #15 among the top 100 American racehorses of the 20th century by an expert panel assembled by The Blood-Horse (Thoroughbred Champions, Eclipse Press, 7th printing, 2005).
As an individual
A handsome, good-sized, well-balanced brown horse, Colin was flawed by an enlarged hock. He was masculine rather than refined and was powerfully muscled, especially through the hindquarters. Contemporary records are contradictory but suggest that he suffered a tendon injury in one or both forelegs prior to running in the Belmont. He had brilliant acceleration but tended to loaf when on the lead. He had a calm temperament.
As a stallion
According to The Blood-Horse, Colin sired 48 winners (53.2%) and 11 stakes winners (13.6%) from 81 named foals; Anne Peters' article at the Thoroughbred Heritage website credits him with 83 foals. He initially stood in England but got little patronage there, siring only 14 foals in 1909-1913. Following his return to the USA in the summer of 1913, he proved markedly subfertile. None of his progeny approached his own class.
Sire rankings
Per The Blood-Horse:
- 6th on the American broodmare sire list in 1937.
Notable progeny
Jock (USA), Neddie (USA), On Watch (USA)
Notable progeny of daughters
He Did (USA), Healy (USA), Late Date (USA), Rosemont (USA)
Connections
Colin was bred and owned by James R. Keene. He was trained by James Rowe, Sr. Colin was transferred to Sam Darling in England following the Tidal Stakes but was never sound enough to race at 4. He stood in England in 1909-1913 before being sold to Wickliffe Stud for US$30,000 during the dispersal of Keene's Castleton Stud. Colin was purchased by E. B. McLean when Wickliffe Stud dispersed in 1918 and remained in his ownership until the horse was humanely destroyed at Captain Raymond Belmont's Belray Farm in the summer of 1932.
Pedigree notes
Colin is outcrossed through five generations. His half sister Verdure (a daughter of Peter Pan, by Commando) produced 1920 Metropolitan Handicap winner Wildair (by Broomstick) and is the ancestress of 1954 Kentucky Oaks winner Fascinator. Another half sister, Passan (by Hamburg), produced five stakes winners including 1918 Spinaway Stakes winner Passing Shower (by Ormondale) and 1924 Metropolitan Handicap winner Laurano (by Peter Pan).
Pastorella, the dam of Colin, was a juvenile stakes winner in England. She was produced from the Strathconan mare Griselda, a half sister to Energetic (by Lord Lyon), dam of 1901 Prix du Jockey Club (French Derby) winner Ermak (by Farfadet).
Books and media
- Colin's rivalry with Fair Play was featured as the second chapter of Horse Racing's Greatest Rivalries (2008, Eclipse Press), a compilation produced by the staff of The Blood-Horse.
- Colin is profiled in Chapter 42 of Abram Hewitt's Sire Lines (1977, The Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association; updated and reprinted by Eclipse Press in 2006).
Fun facts
- Colin's Belmont Stakes duel with Fair Play was ranked #87 in Horse Racing's Top 100 Moments, a review of racing in the 20th century compiled by The Blood-Horse and released in 2006.
- Colin's name was taken from the pastoral poem "Poor Colin" by English poet laureate Nicholas Rowe.
- Hall of Fame trainer James Rowe, Jr., who conditioned five other Hall of Fame horses, requested “He trained Colin” as the epitaph on his tombstone.
- Even though Colin never started in England, trainer Sam Darling ranked Colin with 1901 Oaks Stakes winner Cap and Bells II as the best of the horses he had trained for Keene, based on a private six-furlong trial in which Colin handily defeated the top English sprinter Jack Snipe while conceding him 14 pounds.
- The Colin Stakes was inaugurated in 1956 at Fort Erie in Canada. It is currently run as a listed race for 2-year-olds over 6 furlongs on the Polytrack at Woodbine.
Last updated: July 16, 2022