Collier Hill

Collier Hill
Sire	Dr Devious
Grandsire	Ahonoora
Dam	Polar Queen
Damsire	Polish Precedent
Sex	Gelding
Foaled	1998
Country	Great Britain
Colour	Chestnut
Breeder	George W. Strawbridge, Jr.
Owner	J. David Abell, Richard Crowe & Russell H. Hall
Trainer	Alan Swinbank
Record	45: 15-10-6
Earnings	£2,317,161
Major wins
(2004, 2006) Gerling-Preis (2005) Irish St. Leger (2005) Canadian International Stakes (2006) Hong Kong Vase (2006)

Collier Hill (foaled 26 March 1998) is a British Thoroughbred racehorse. He was bred by the prominent American sportsman George W. Strawbridge, Jr. who was involved in both steeplechase and flat racing and who raced in Europe and the United States.

Out of the mare Polar Queen, a granddaughter of Danzig, Collier Hill was sired by the 1992 Epsom Derby winner, Dr Devious. He was an unbroken three-year-old when Melsonby trainer Alan Swinbank purchased him at the 2001 Ascot Bloodstock Sales for £5,500. Swinbank sold a half-interest in the horse to Russell Hall and then the remaining half to Ashley Young. Renamed from Dr Freeze to Collier Hill after a hill on a farm owned by Hall, the horse suffered from a number of physical ailments and his race conditioning was a slow process.

Collier Hill began his racing career in bumper races in North Yorkshire, where trainer Alan Swinbank operated his stables. He earned his first win as a four-year-old in March 2002 in a two-mile race at Catterick Bridge Racecourse in Catterick Bridge. After moderate success in hurdling races, Collier Hill began to show promise in flat racing, focusing on events where he could use his demonstrated ability at middle to long distances. In 2004, he won a Listed race at Hamilton Park Racecourse in Scotland, then earned his first significant victory when his handlers entered him in the Group 3 at Taby Racecourse in Sweden. He was ridden by 45-year-old journeyman jockey Dean McKeown, who rode him for the rest of his career. Having handled travelling well, Collier Hill was sent to compete at Nad Al Sheba Racecourse in Dubai in early 2005, where he won a turf handicap and ran third in the Group 1 Dubai Sheema Classic. While the horse was racing in Dubai, a veterinarian diagnosed him as suffering from arthritis that required medication being given through injections in his joints on a near bi-monthly basis.

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