Hall of Famer Gil Rowntree, one of the most successful trainers in Canadian horse racing history, passed away on Sunday at age 92.    A Toronto native, Rowntree had a brief career as a jockey and jockey agent before becoming an assistant trainer to Lou Cavalaris Jr. in the 1960s. He began working for Jack Stafford’s Stafford Farms in 1967 and trained three Queen’s Plate winners for the fabled outfit – Royal Chocolate with Queen Elizabeth in attendance in 1973; Amber Herod in 1974, and Sound Reason in 1977. His fourth Plate victory came with Key to the Moon for BKY Stables in a controversial edition of Canada’s most prestigious race in 1984.   The Stafford-owned Overskate was unquestionably Rowntree’s best charge. The Canadian Horse of the Yearin 1978 and 1979, Overskate won nine Sovereign Awards and several graded stakes in the United States, including the 1979 Bowling Green Handicap at Belmont. He lost the 1978 Plate by a neck to Regal Embrace before sweeping the remainder of that year’s Canadian Triple Crown stakes, the Prince of Wales and Breeders’.   Rowntree was voted the Sovereign Award for outstanding trainer in 1975. Aside from Overstakes, he developed theCanadian champions Ten Gold Pots, Deceit Dancer, Allan Blue, Key to the Moon, and Sound Reason. He also conditioned Tudor Queen, a stakes winner in the U.S., and the precocious stakes winner Ambassador B.   Rowntree was inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame in 1997. Upon his retirement in 2012, he accumulated 1,036 wins, including 124 stakes, and his runners earned $17,574,804 (U.S.).   :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.