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Grahame Cox/Stuff
Colin Jillings, left, and his long-time training partner Richard Yuill, with the horse, Mount Street.
One of the New Zealand’s best known horse trainers, Colin Jillings, has died, aged 91.
Jillings, who made his mark in the racing industry as a jockey before turning to training at the tender age of 19, trained numerous stars of the turf, with Stipulate, McGinty, Uncle Remus and The Phantom Chance among the best of them.
The biggest win came with The Phantom Chance’s thrilling victory in the 1993 Cox Plate, which is considered Australasia’s premier weight-for-age race.
Jillings, known as “Jillo” to friends and punters and “Mr Jillings’’ to jockeys, held a trainer’s licence for 54 years, with his horses winning 1327 races, 703 of them in partnership with Richard Yuill from their Takanini base south of Auckland.
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The racing industry honoured him with the Outstanding Contribution To Racing award in 1999 and he was inducted into the NZ Racing Hall of Fame in 2008.
David Ellis and Karyn Fenton-Ellis from Te Akau Racing led the tributes to Jillings on Friday.
“We are deeply saddened by the loss of our beloved and hugely respected friend training legend Colin Jillings. Massive admiration for a man who shared immeasurable time, skill, knowledge and expertise with us.
“His training skills eternally honoured in the Hall of Fame. Rest well pal x.”
Jillings started out in racing as a nine-year-old, helping out in the Ellerslie stable of Ivan Tucker before graduating to apprentice jockey status aged 12.
He had 42 wins as a jockey, including the Railway Handicap on Royal Scot, but had an enduring battle keeping his weight down and took over Tucker’s stables to begin his training career when he was 19.
One of his earliest big wins was Yeman, who won the 1956 Auckland Cup and followed up that success with victory in the 1958 Wellington Cup.
In all, Jillings won four Auckland Cups, with Stipulate, who was one of his favourite horses, Perhaps and Irish Chance being the others. He won the NZ Derby five times, including Uncle Remus and The Phantom Chance, before it went on to win the Cox Plate.
“You are very lucky to have a runner in it [the Cox Plate], let alone win it. I’d say that would be my greatest thrill in racing,’’ he said after his retirement.
Jillings won most of the big races in New Zealand and also enjoyed success across the Tasman, most notably with The Phantom Chance, the mighty colt McGinty and star filly Tycoon Lil.
McGinty had big race wins on both sides of the Tasman in the Air New Zealand Stakes (twice), Rawson Stakes, Canterbury Guineas, Caulfield Stakes and George Adams Handicap.
Jillings also proved a great mentor to apprentice jockeys in his stables, with Bob Vance, Sam Spratt and Mark Sweeney among those to forge great careers.
Ever philosophical about the ups and downs of racing, Jillings managed a hearty laugh when his last runner at the races, Cheval De Troy finished a conspicuous last in the BMW at Rosehill, won by the mighty mare Makybe Diva in 2005.
“It was disappointing, but that’s racing. I’m used to losing,’’ he said.
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