LesterfChappell 
     
    
   
   
    
     George Biggar once won a horse named 
     
     Kilroy in a card game in Charlottetown. 
     
     George sold Kilroy to \'ince :\laclnnis of 
     
     Kensington who sold him to Lester. 
     
     Kilroy won a matinee dash one afternoon 
     
     in Millvale with Lester driving. His prize 
     
     was an alarm clock with a $1.75 price tag 
     
     still on the hack of the clock. 
     
    
   
   
    
     Lester Chappell moved to Summerside on 
     
     October 51. 1931. He recalled that date 
     
     clearly hecause Blair Andrew accompa- 
     
     nied him to pick up a horse for Allie 
     
     Cutcliffe. This would he the first horse in 
     
     the Lester Chappell Stahle at the SR\\". 
     
     Incidentally. Blair Andrew was the father 
     
     of Erwin and grandfather of Brian. Bill 
     
     and Rollin who were active in the stan— 
     
     dardhred industry in .2008. 
     
    
   
   
    
     The great Hall of Earner. «loe ()‘Brien from 
     
     Alherton. raced 'I'I'f) Abbe in the top class 
     
     on the Maritime circuit. A few years later. 
     
     Lester hecame ’li'p Abbas owner in a 
     
     trade for a calf. By the next spring. Lester 
     
     had him trained down and ready to race 
     
     hut decided to sell him to Rollie \V'ood 
     
     and Billy Smallwood for 8100. That was 
     
    
   
   
    
     a huge amount of money in those days! 
     
    
   
   
    
     Money Now] was a dandy and talented 
     
     horse once owned hy l)r. Preston 
     
     Macintyre of Montague. The horse later 
     
     raced out of the Frank Daniels Stahle of 
     
     ’l'ruro. Lester purchased him from Frank 
     
     Daniels and raced him for three years 
     
     when he was near the retirement age of 
     
     it. He wasn‘t a spectacular horse hut a 
     
     nice horse that exemplified the type asso— 
     
    
   
   
    
     64 
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
     Behind the Gate 
     
    
   
   
    
     ciated with Lester throughout his career. 
     
     Lester thought a lot of this horse. 
     
    
   
   
    
     Looking hack over the years. Lester 
     
     asserted fondly. “My favorite horse would 
     
     have to he [I'm/say .\' owned by Boyd 
     
     MacDonald and Erwin Howatt. I).\7.M. 
     
     He was trained hy Reg McClure and 
     
     Everett Lowther. lie was the nicest horse 
     
     that 1 ever pulled a rein on. He was just 
     
     like an airplane. I drove him in the top 
     
     class that winter at the SRW. He was just 
     
     a nice horse to drive." Lester was really 
     
     appreciative of the owners for selecting 
     
     him to drive such a classy invitational 
     
     horse that winter. 
     
    
   
   
    
     In the past. Lester operated what could 
     
     he considered a modest puhlic stahle. 
     
     He had many owners and they included 
     
    
   
   
    
     Jack Brown. (Iollins \V’ood. Gerald Dunn. 
     
    
   
   
    
     Ralph Somers and Earl Cannon. This 
     
     trainer reminisced. "In 2008. there were a 
     
     lot of expenses involved in training a 
     
     horse. One time it was cheap. A trainer 
     
     could take a horse to hoard for SIS a 
     
     week. In 200+. it cost $13 per day. I 
     
     don‘t take hoarders any more. I am trying 
     
     to get three of my own ready for the sea— 
     
    
   
   
    
     fi— 
     
    
   
   
    
     son. \V'hen you are in. it is a little more 
     
    
   
   
    
     difficult then it used to he." 
     
    
   
   
    
     Hex/1m A Boy hy llomu l/(Hmz‘er out of 
     
     Loose o/Vls/Jes was a two—year—old home— 
     
     hred that Lester was taking along slowly. 
     
     This was his own colt and he didn‘t plan 
     
     any serious training with him until he 
     
     developed and matured as a three—year— 
     
     old. He informed. "I had many horses