Gilles Bagrieau

the bottom and worked his way up while he was a very young boy. His main inter— est in life was horses and most of his time seemed to be devoted to the track. He stated. “I quit school when I was a youngster because I loved horses that much. I was 13 and 1 only went to grade nine. I went to work with my uncle. Marcel in Saint john. 1 have been there ever since and that was 29 years ago." Gilles‘ formal education may have ended at grade nine but his learning did not ter— minate then. He taught himself well in the ways of the world and the things that

were important in life.

As a youngster. Gilles got his early lessons from his father and then from his uncle. Marcel. He worked for l\r’larcel in Saint john for seven years. lie remem— bered that joe (ioguen was one of the better all around horsemen from whom he received some pointers. He also remembered going to llarvey (’Iormier‘s barn frequently and found that every— thing was so neat and Harvey was so pro— fessional. There were other capable horsemen that he learned from but these were the main ones.

I asked Gilles to name the horseman that he admired the most when he was a kid. He responded. “I admired .‘\larcel Barrieau because he had done so much

for me. I worked for him in Saint john

Behind the Gate

for seven years and learned a lot frotn him. He permitted me to do so much around the stable."

Gilles was working for his uncle. Marcel in 1987 when Marcel decided to move his stable to Montreal. Gilles had a big deci- sion to make. "I stayed home in Saint

john and Paul Daeres hired me to be his

trainer and driver so I stayed there for a couple of years. He had a big stable at that time. \Y'hen Paul l)aeres sold his horses. I went to work for Francis Belliveau in Moncton. This was the Belco Stable. Things didnt work out there so I went to The Red Mile in Lexington. Kentucky. 1 got to time—trial a couple of two—year—olds while I was there. That was a big thrill for me because I was still only in my early 20s."

Most drivers never forget their very first drive in a race and Gilles was no excep— tion. He remembered it well. “It was at Exhibition l’ark Raceway in Saint john and I was driving xl/ l’e/f/e. I had the rail and I got nosed out in 3:06 in a photofin- ish. l had two drives that night and fin- ished third in my other race. It took me

1% drives before I got my first winner,"

'l‘his talented teamster in his very familiar green—t)range—white driving colors sur- passed _%.()<)() career victories: however.

he would never forget his first one. It

“I quit school when I was a yozmgsler because I loved horses that much. ”

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