11 Colin secured his first win as a racehorse owner at Penshurst in 1974 and over the next 50 years won hundreds of races across Australia and also had a winner at Royal Ascot. Colin loved winning races at Warrnambool and was a passionate supporter of jumps racing. His feature wins here include two Warrnambool Cups (Hissing Sid, 2009 & 2010), two Grand Annuals (Regina Coeli, 2015 & 2017), a Galleywood Hurdle (Big Blue, 2019) and a Jericho Cup (Wil John, 2021). The last four of those wins were secured with horses trained by Ciaron Maher, in whose career Colin played such an important part, particularly in the early years. Typically, after Wil John’s thrilling Jericho Cup triumph, McKenna emotionally declared "It's more than just winning the race, it's how you win the race and who wins it with you, it's an amazing feeling.” He added, "My father and my father-in-laws and uncles all went to war and it's bloody special." Some of Colin’s biggest wins away from Warrnambool were with Jameka (Caulfield Cup, VRC Oaks, The BMW), Merchant Navy (Coolmore Stud Stakes, Diamond Jubilee Stakes (Royal Ascot), Attrition (Toorak Handicap), and the promising Another Wil. In 2021, Colin was named a member in the General Division of the Order of Australia for significant service to the community. The Warrnambool Racing Club extends its condolences to Janice, and to the entire McKenna family and to Colin’s many friends.
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