Colin Brown made the trip to The Central Wheatbelt Race Club on Sunday with two horses in the opener, the 2YO Maiden, and what a way to walk away, but with a training/driving win on board Relatively Arma, and a third placing for the stable with Sonic Seelster, you would be hard pressed to find a more fitting way to walk away from this chapter of your life, than in the place it all began.

"It was half by design that I went back to Kellerberrin for that two-year-old race, that's where I started, the other was to get that two-year-old bonus with her,

"Without sounding too soppy, I got back there and had two horses by myself and had to gear them l up and I had three people come up and ask if I was by myself and they all said they would come back after the race to help me,

"they're all people I used to compete against and drive for, when I was a young bloke up there and after the race I didn't hose a horse."

Brown had his last metropolitan drive on Friday night in the last on the card, going down by just 2m on the line to Beat City with his daughter Maddy on board.

"it was good finish up with a win (on Sunday), because on Friday night, that daughter of mine, she went past me and looked at me as if to say, 'how you going now mate?"

As a young boy, aged just 14/15 years-old, Brown spent his weekends working for the 2007 Hall of Fame inductee Jim Schrader, accrediting his success to some good old fashion 'Head down, bum up' hard work, he firmly believes he is the driver he is today due to Schrader's guidance in his early years.

"I had a very good teacher, an excellent teacher, he wanted to teach you the right way because one day you would be out there in a race with him,

"He wanted you out there knowing what you were doing, he didn't want to be out there competing against someone that had no idea,

"Every time you pull the colours on, you do your best for people, sometimes it's not good enough, but as long as you do your best, that's all you can ask for. "

Meeting his wife Lyn through the industry, the then young couple were married in 1980, before the pair welcomed their first child together in 1991, Chloe who is now heavily involved in the industry herself. Just 20 months later they welcomed Kiara in 1993 and then Maddison in 1995, with Maddison now taking the reins on her dad's horses.

"(We were) Always cash poor, and fortunately Lyn was able to be a fulltime mum, and just devoted all her time to the kids, so in that way the industry has been good,

"I saw a lot of the kids up until they were six years old, in the stables, it wasn't a bad industry to be involved in, a lot of people go to work and its dark and the kids are in bed, and they get home when its dark, as far as bringing the kids up, Lyns always kept them busy, and out of trouble,

"It's been hard financially, but good emotionally."

At 64-years, Brown made the decision that he doesn't want to risk injury and is looking forward to eventually retiring completely from the industry, with the fruits of his labour poured into his property that he purchased for what now would be a complete bargain.

"In this industry you never have money, if you're fortunate enough you build an asset, and we were lucky that we bought this property for $35,000, and we're just very fortunate that back then we were able to purchase it, but it has been a hard slog, and in the end, we have an asset to sell."

With a long history in the industry, you would imagine the decision to walk away would be a difficult one, but for Brown it was one that came to him with ease.

"Years ago, I used to watch my horses around if I was suspended or what not and I used to get apprehensive, but not at all now,

"Maybe because its Maddy (Brown) and Dylan (Egerton-Green) driving, and they both obviously being close to me, and they know how I think and how I train, I've got confidence in them."

With his debut to driving in 1976, Colin Brown had his first winner on board Go To It on the 9th of October at York, with his first metropolitan victory just 10 months later at Richmond Raceway on board Esteral Lass.

"York was my first win, that was the only place I could get drives, that's where I kicked off most of my driving.

No stranger to success, Brown has won his fair share of features of the past 47 years, with some of his most memorable the Fremantle Cup in 2006 with Money Magnet NZ, as well as the Queensland Oaks in 2010 with Millwood Meg NZ, both wins for the Bond stable.

Now having driven 10 Group 1's, his most recent one in 2021 when he drove Minstrel NZ to victory in the $200,000 Golden Nugget.

The industry has introduced him to many people, including influential owner Jim Currie, with the pair building a friendship over the past 20 or so years.

"they're mates, you can't do it without support, and that sort of support, that's not the usual, that people stay with you that long,

"I have been fortunate to have competed with some true legends of the industry and under strong administrators in my youth."

Brown is looking forward to the next chapter in his life, and his next role as a grandfather, with his daughter Chloe due with the Browns first grandchild in December.

With 14 in work, Brown will now concentrate on his team of horses before inevitably stepping away completely, with Brown said to be looking forward to enjoying a retirement he and Lyn have worked so hard for.