In 1963 Hume Pollock, who trained one or two horses for himself on the Ontario circuit, was looking for a stablemate for his allowance performer Vogel’s Victor. Noticing a horse that he had a liking for, Pollock made out a $2,500 claiming slip for this gelded son of Empire Day, who was a half-brother to Nearctic. Little did Pollock know that this undistinguished claimer, a bull-necked youngster named E. Day, would become one of the most versatile performers to set foot on a Canadian track.

E. Day, who should have been named Mr. Endurance, carried the Pollock green and salmon silks to victory 24 times, 10 of them in stakes. He was named Canadian Champion Older Horse in 1964 and would have been in the running for Horse of the Year too, but a youngster named Northern Dancer just happened to be dominating racing in North America that year. Pollock sent E. Day to the post 23 times in 1964, winning seven races and placing second or third seven times.

In 1965, an even greater year for E. Day, there were stories about his bad ankles, which, by season’s end, had become as famous as Mother Brown’s knees. He had started the season losing races and appeared weary. Pollock had his veterinarian remove fluid from the bothersome ankles and thereafter they only bothered the critics. Rugged and tough were understatements when describing how E. Day handled his opponents over the next five weeks as he won the Inferno, Jacques Cartier, Connaught Cup, lost the Highlander and five days later under top weight won the Dominion Day Handicap. E. Day could run on any surface. He won on fast tracks, muddy tracks, excelled in slop and handled grass. And, he was just as dangerous sprinting as he was “going long”.