Brian ee 
     
    
   
   
    
     Alex. Francis was a mentor to Brian and 
     
     many other young aspiring kids. Brian 
     
     explained, “I just liked the way Francis 
     
     did things around the track.” 
     
    
   
   
    
     This versatile horsemen who did all of his 
     
     own shoeing began to operate a public 
     
     stable in 1991; however, it seemed that he 
     
     always had horses for someone before 
     
     that. Some of his first owners were Clark 
     
     Cudmore, Glen Taylor, Paul Morrison, 
     
     Aubrey Webster and Louis McIsaac. 
     
     Often they would send their horses in to 
     
     Brian for a spell. Horses were coming 
     
     and going all the time. He operated his 
     
     stable with the capable assistance of his 
     
     daughter, Ambyr who drove and son, 
     
     Brodie who also drove. His wife, Isabel 
     
     pitched in frequently and learned to per— 
     
     form many of the daily duties required in 
     
     the operation of a stable. 
     
    
   
   
    
     Brian remembered his first professional 
     
     drive for a purse His parents, Audrey 
     
     and Alex left that morning for a vacation 
     
     in Florida. The truck was loaded with six 
     
     horses for the trip from Clyde River to 
     
     Saint John Exhibition Park. Finally the 
     
     race got underway and he was driving 
     
     Ozar/ejet for Wendell MacDonald and he 
     
     was parked out for the first quarter. 
     
     Francis McIsaac was in this race and he 
     
     saw what was happening to the young 
     
     kid starting his career and somehow a 
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
     Behind the Gate 
     
    
   
   
    
     place on the fence opened up for Ozar/e 
     
     jet. At the half, Francis had already 
     
     moved out and his horse was pretty 
     
     much spent. Brian was able to get Ozark 
     
     jet out and Francis urged him to get out 
     
     and get at them. Ozar/e jet ended up 
     
     fourth in a race Brian will never forget. 
     
    
   
   
    
     Brian had a valid reason to celebrate 
     
     when he won race number 1,000 with 
     
     Robert Hunter owned by Ian Smith. A 
     
     very small percentage of drivers ever 
     
     reach that milestone. Another big day 
     
     occurred back in June of 1977 when 
     
     Brian won in 22114 with Heatber’s Pet for 
     
     his very first lifetime victory. That horse 
     
     had been given to him by his grandfa— 
     
     ther, Richie in january of that year and 
     
     became his special project. Rosetown 
     
     Eagle owned by Glenn and Kerry Taylor 
     
     won in 167.2 at the GDP. for Brian’s 
     
     fastest win ever. Brian had 1,414 total 
     
    
   
   
    
     wins in his career. 
     
    
   
   
    
     When asked to name some of his most 
     
     memorable horses, he did not hesitate, “I 
     
     have driven a lot of good horses but 
     
     three stand out in my mind — Siluerwood 
     
     Dianne, Dallas Rocks and Rosetown 
     
     Eagle. These three were totally different 
     
     horses but each had its own outstanding 
     
     characteristics. If you sent Silvenvood 
     
     Dianne to the front and she was on her 
     
     game, the competition had to be really 
     
    
   
   
    
     “He bad a bigger beart than any borse I have ever been 
     
     associated wit/9. He could malee a poor drive 
     
     seem li/ee a brilliant drive. ” 
     
    
   
   
    
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