Kerr's recommendation turned out to be a bargain. At two, Tomy Lee stood 16 hands, weighed a bit over a thousand pounds, and was sound. The press called the bay with four white stockings a greyhound, slim and perfectly proportioned. Sent to California for his first year on the track, he won his first six races. Then he was sent East to run in two more, both jousts with First Landing, his only losses that year, and in each case he was closing fast. At age three, he won four of seven races, one the Blue Grass Stakes, with two 2nd-place finishes. At ages two and three, he was runner-up in the voting for Champion male.