For 42 years many horses had chased
“The Ghost of Walter Dale.”
But it was another ghost, “The Grey
Ghost,” who finally put Walter Dale to rest.
On June 14, 1979 a pretty roan horse
named Daily Special paced the oval in 2:02.1 for owner David Kileel and trainer-driver
Mike Downey.
Only one week earlier this same combination
had just fallen short in their effort when they missed Walter Dale’s 2:02 ½ record
by only 1/10 of second.
 |
| Daily Special 2:02.3 and Skippers Point - June 7. 1979 |
Daily Special was a graduate of
the Atlantic Sires Stakes program, one in which he had accumulated almost
$20,000 in earnings. It was a natural
progression for the talented four-year-old horse to step against the best horses
in Fredericton at the time and Skipper’s Point (Mike Campbell), Border Lord N
(Sheldon Watts) and Medastar (Boyd Tremere) provided his competition on a clear
but cool June night.
Tremere had hinted to Downey
prior to the race to expect early speed and a fast half in the race and he was
true to his word. With Medastar setting
the tempo with fractions of :29.3-1:00.3-1:31.2 the fans started to buzz when the
pocket-sitting Daily Special mounted a challenge on the leader at the
three-quarter pole.
After coming so close the week before was it
possible that Walter Dale’s record would finally fall?
This time they were not to be
denied. Walter Dale’s ghost, which had
hung over the Fredericton oval for all those years, was finally vanquished, perhaps
fittingly by a Fredericton owned Maritime-bred.
Downey told the Daily Gleaner,
“It was a great feeling to set a new record although I had never really
expected to break the old one, which has been around longer than I have.” He added, “I thought by the three-quarter
pole that I had a good chance because he still seemed to have a lot of horse
left in him.”
 |
| Daily Special 2:02.1, Medastar and Border Lord N - June 14, 1979 |
 | |
| Daily Special, Mike Downey, David and Peggy Kileel |
The story of how Downey, Kileel
and Daily Special - a horse originally known as Glengyle Kestrel - came
together to rewrite the Fredericton Raceway history book is an interesting one.
David Kileel was a local
entrepreneur whose Diplomat Motel and Restaurant were one of Fredericton’s hot
spots in the 1970’s. He was introduced
to the horse business by fellow businessman Albert Goodine, who had encouraged
some of his friends like Kileel and Doug Baker - who incidentally purchased
Border Lord N as an eight-year-old in 1978 - to venture into the harness racing
game.
With the help of Goodine, Kileel
selected two yearlings from the Fredericton Horse Sale in 1976. The first was a Quebec Hanover colt he later
named I’m Yours and the other was Glengyle Kestrel - a son of Dominion Byrd-Wendy
Chief that he purchased for $2,700. He later named the colt Daily Special.
Kileel had a penchant for naming
some of his horses after some of the dishes on his Chinese menu at the Diplomat
and in ensuing years names like Sweet and Sour Annie, Chop Suey and Chow Mein
Molly became associated with horses he owned.
What he needed now was a trainer
and it was Goodine who recommended a young up and comer in Downey, who was also
at the sale. Kileel had never met Downey
prior to that day but it was the beginning of a long-standing and thriving enterprise
that produced many outstanding Maritime-bred performers like Some Nice,
Ketchup, Special Reward and Daily Special among many others.
The partnership enjoyed immediate
success and both I’m Yours and Daily Special
made it to the races as two-year-olds with I’m Yours winning two races and
taking a record of 2:13.3.
But it was Daily Special who
became the star of the stable.
The colt made twelve starts, winning
eight races and finished second the other four times while earning $6,682, a
considerable sum of money in those days.
He was a multiple Atlantic Sires Stakes winner and was the champion
two-year-old colt in 1977 over his chief rival, Elmn Tree, a son of Newport
Robbi.
Downey says that Daily Special really grew into himself as he matured through the winter and it was early in his four-year-old campaign when he was already chasing the track record in Fredericton. He went on to make a few starts on the free-for-all circuit and almost captured the Walter Dale Memorial later that year but lost in a photo to the legendary Scotch Gauman and Bill Nicholson Sr.
Kileel ended up selling Daily
Special to Ontario interests but Downey never forgetting the one “which can do
everything but talk”, a horse that helped launch his stellar racing career in
the Maritimes, reacquired the horse a few years later and brought him home to
close out his career for the Grey Ghost Stable.
Even as ten-year-old he was a regular in the winner’s circle in Moncton
and Fredericton.
Daily Special retired with a
record of 2:00.4f taken at Mohawk, 50 lifetime wins and over $93,000 in career
earnings. He was an inaugural inductee
into the Fredericton Raceway Wall of Fame in 2004.
Daily Special only held the track
record at Fredericton for a little over a year before it was lowered by Bright
N Breezy N. After 42 years of the track
record eluding some of Maritimes harness racing’s top performers, it has been
lowered eight times since then including six times during the 1980’s.
FREDERICTON RACEWAY TRACKS RECORDS
2:02 ½ Walter Dale September 15, 1937 Henry Clukey
2:02.1 Daily
Special June 14,
1979 Mike Downey
2:01.1 Bright and
Breezy N August 4, 1980 Steve Mason
2:00.4 Pennant Play August 21, 1981 Wally Hennessey
1:58.2* Waveore June
27, 1985 David Pinkney
1:58.2 Burners
Delight July 17, 1986 Jody Hennessey
1:58.1 Suthen Guvna June 25, 1987 Paul MacDonald
1:58 Bub September
9, 1989 Graham Chappell
1:57 King Tyler September 7, 1991 Steve Mahar
1:55 Shannon
Commander June 26, 1993 Garry MacDonald
1:54.2 Mcapulco July 2, 2012 Brodie MacPhee
* Exhibition mile
As Fredericton Raceway celebrates
125 years, this is the final of a four-part series reflecting on the track and
its rich history. I would like to
acknowledge the contributions of Patrick Eastwood, Scott Green and Fredericton
Raceway hobby historian Doug McCarty.
Brent Briggs was the General Manager of Fredericton
Raceway from 2003 to 2008 and also a long-time Race-Secretary in New
Brunswick. He has also been a long-time race
horse owner and trained Spudland Sierra p.6,1:52.1s, one of the fastest New
Brunswick-bred mares.
For more historical data, pictures and stories please LIKE
Fredericton Raceway 125 on Facebook.
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