Wednesday's final goodbye to trainer Pierre Touchette will be emotional for many in the Quebec racing community, but it'll be especially difficult for owner Lucien Paiement, a client for 30 years, and brothers Gilles and Rene Dion, who worked for him a quarter-century
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"I was more often around him than anyone else. I never went on my own because I liked what we had. He was like the father I didn't have. Mine died when I was 14," said Rene Dion, 41, who started to work for Touchette as a teenager. At one time, a third brother, Mario, also worked for Touchette, who met Gilles initially when both were in the employ of Michel Lachance.
Rene said Touchette "was tough. Not in a mean way, but demanding. We had a schedule, he wanted it followed. He liked his horses in good order, ready to race."
Paiement remembers an intelligent man "who took better care of the horses than of himself."
He was outspoken and opinionated but there was a gentleness to him as well, said Paiement, for whom Touchette trained several top horses, including Style Semalu, Esmeralda Semalu and Semalu Express.
"People knew him at tracks throughout Canada and the U.S.," Paiement said. "He was a good guy, very honest. He never told me stories. He always did a good job with the horses."
Rene Dion said the closing of Hippodrome de Montreal had a profound impact on Touchette.
"It took a big part of his life. He took it so hard, you wouldn't believe."
Before an employee summoned an ambulance to take him to hospital, Touchette - who had undergone an operation for bladder cancer last year - felt unwell for a couple of days, but thought it was indigestion, Dion said. "Something wasn't right. Normally, he calls me on the phone 25 times a day. The last three days, he didn't call at all."
Touchette lapsed into a coma in hospital and died there May 17th at age 64.
"Pierre was overweight, but he had a great heart," Dion said. "It was the last thing to go."
(Trot Insider Exclusive by Paul Delean)
As it is said higher, Pierre
As it is said higher, Pierre Touchette was a good guy, very honest. I would add that he was a good MENTOR, not only for the family Dion but also for the family Allard. Regularly, after the running race, he discussed with Simon, always the encouraging but which patience he had. He appreciated and knows the work which was done by them. He was not afraid to share his experience of racing in Québec, Ontario or US. How many times, he gave good advice to René, him who had travelled Quebec in the Ontario and in the United States. He put itself in the skin of the fasts, comparing with them when he had begun in the world of the races. Pierre was happy to share its knowledge. Not later than some weeks ago, he how explained me to obtain work permits for the United States. He knew everything. The world of horses lost a big piece, a talented man, a friend whom we would like all to have. The world of the races and especially Quebec is in mourning.
Comme il est dit plus haut, Pierre Touchette était un bon gars, bien honnête. J'ajouterais qu'il était un bon MENTOR, non seulement pour la famille Dion mais aussi pour la famille Allard. Régulièrement, après la course, il discutait avec Simon, toujours l'encourageant mais quelle patience il avait. Combien de fois, il a donné de bons conseils à René, lui qui avait voyagé du Québec à l'Ontario et aux États-Unis. Il se mettait dans la peau des jeunes, se comparant à eux lorsqu'il avait débuté dans le monde des courses. Pierre était heureux de partager ses connaissances. Pas plus tard qu'il y a quelques semaines, il m'expliquait comment obtenir des permis de travail pour les États-Unis. Il connaissait tout. Le monde des chevaux a perdu un gros morceau, un homme talentueux, un ami qu'on voudrait tous avoir. Le monde des courses et surtout le Québec est en deuil.