Robert Collis

Robert Collis 

1874-1930

Robert Henry Collis was born in County Cork on 13 January 1874. He had a distinguished career as a soldier and was a fine amateur rider under National Hunt rules. 

He was educated at Wellington and commissioned in the 6th Dragoon Guards in 1896. He served in the South African War (the Second Boer War) from 1899 to 1900, receiving severe wounds, being mentioned in despatches, and awarded the DSO in 1900. Promoted to the rank of Captain the same year, he retired from the Army in 1905, although he was afterwards a Major in the Pembroke Yeomanry from 1908.

Captain Collis had already begun riding as a gentleman (amateur) jockey by then, registering a double at the annual Bridgwater Hunt NH meeting in 1901 on Tame Fox in the Somerset Hurdle and the Maunsell Chase on Hillmartin. 

He recorded his greatest success in the saddle when riding Comfit, owned by Frank Bibby, to win the 1903 National Hunt Chase at Cheltenham. 

Captain Collis was elected to the National Hunt Committee in 1905. He subsequently trained professionally – although often the trainer was given as J. Launchbury, his assistant – based initially at Tenby, then at Cleobury Mortimer, and then at Kinlet, in Worcestershire. He trained and also rode Lara to win the 1906 Stanley Chase over the Liverpool fences. 

He rode in two Grand Nationals, completing the course last of eight finishers on Napper Tandy in 1907, but falling on Wickham two years later. In between he trained Caubeen to win the 1908 Grand Sefton Chase.

Frank Bibby’s horses had previously trained at Lawrenny but he decided to send them to Captain Collis’s Kinlet yard, meaning he began 1911 with a string of 18 horses. He ran two of Bibby’s horses in that year’s Grand National, 8/1 joint second favourite Caubeen and the less fancied one-eyed Glenside, a 20/1 chance. He watched in disbelief as Caubeen and Rathnally – racing together and miles clear of Glenside, toiling back in third – collided with each other as they went for the same gap in the fence. This left Glenside to struggle home alone, the only horse not to have fallen. Rathnally was remounted to finish second, ahead of two other remounters. 

On the outbreak of World War One, Captain Collis was recalled to the Army and sent his own jumpers to be trained at Badminton House in Epsom. He served as a temporary Lieutenant-Colonel in the Remount Department from 1916 and was mentioned three times in despatches.

After the war he continued to ride over fences into the 1920s and also acted as a steward. He resumed training, based at Eastbury House, where he remained until 1925. He trained mostly under National Hunt rules but also held a Flat licence in 1922 and 1923. 

In late 1925 he left England to take up an appointment as a starter with the Western India Turf Club, although he remained a member of the National Hunt Committee until his death. 

He died at Poona in India, on 9 November 1930 following an operation. He left £11,897 gross. 

Information sourced from ‘A Biographical Dictionary of Racehorse Trainers in Berkshire 1850-1939’ by David Boyd, published in 1998.