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 15 and I only went to grade 
     
     nine. I went to work with my uncle, 
     
     Marcel in Saint John. I 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 Marcel in 
     
     Saint John for seven years. He remem— 
     
     bered that Joe Goguen was one of the 
     
     better all around horsemen from whom 
     
     he received some pointers. He also 
     
     remembered going to Harvey Cormier’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 Marcel 
     
     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 from 
     
     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. When Paul Daeres sold his 
     
     horses, I went to work for Francis 
     
     Belliveau in Moncton. This was the 
     
     Belco Stable. Things didn’t work out 
     
     there so I went to The Red Mile in 
     
     Lexington, Kentucky. I 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 205.” 
     
    
   
   
    
     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 Park Raceway in Saint John 
     
     and I was driving A! Petite. I had the rail 
     
     and I got nosed out in 2:06 in a photofin- 
     
     ish. I had two drives that night and fin— 
     
     ished third in my other race. It took me 
     
     15 drives before I got my first winner.” 
     
    
   
   
    
     This talented teamster in his very familiar 
     
     green—orange—white driving colors sur— 
     
     passed 3,000 career victories; however, 
     
     he would never forget his first (he. It 
     
    
   
   
    
     “I quit school when I was a youngster because 
     
     I loved horses that much. ” 
     
    
   
   
    
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