[10] On his three-year-old debut, Kris Kin was stepped up significantly in class to contest the Group Three Dee Stakes, a recognised trial[11] for the Derby, run at Chester.

Hampered in the early stages, and again when attempting to make a challenge, Kris Kin was switched to the outside, where he showed a surprising turn of acceleration to overtake his rivals and win by two lengths from the odds-on favourite, Big Bad Bob.

[13] Kris Kin had originally been entered for the Derby, but his unpromising early form had persuaded his connections to allow his entry to lapse at one of the "forfeit" stages in October 2002.

[16] Two days before the Derby, Kris Kin's participation was placed in doubt, as he suffered a slight leg injury, but he recovered quickly after treatment and was allowed to run.

As at Chester, he began to make rapid progress after being switched to the outside, catching the leader, The Great Gatsby inside the final furlong and winning by a length.

[17] After the race Michael Stoute praised Fallon's riding, before echoing Raymond's comments after the Dee Stakes by calling Kiris Kin "one of the laziest horses at home I've ever trained.

"[14] A late withdrawal from the Irish Derby because of the unsuitably firm ground[18] meant that Kris Kin had been off the course for more than seven weeks before his next start, the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes at Ascot.

[22] Stoute felt that the colt would improve from the race, whilst Fallon was reported to be "unhappy" about the tactics of one of the French riders, who had kept him boxed against the rails at a crucial stage.

The rankings also made him the second best English-trained colt of his generation behind the sprinter Oasis Dream[26] An unusual tribute to Kris Kin is a "luxury" hotel in Dubai which bears his name.

In October 2005 Kris Kin was moved to the Morristown Lattin Stud, near Naas, County Kildare, as a dual-purpose sire, intended to appeal to breeders of potential National Hunt horses.