Voices Of Racing Reflect On Finest Moments

Momentous race commentaries resound from the past like chiming bells, etched into our consciousness alongside the visual recollection of the great pinnacles of this sport. Who can forget the inimitable Sir Peter O'Sullevan's call of “the mare's beginning to get up” that accompanied the last surge of Dawn Run in the 1986 Cheltenham Gold Cup? Or Graham Goode's cry as they turned for home in that year's Epsom Derby that “Dancing Brave is on the extreme left starting to motor, but oh so much to do!” Or 10 years later and John Hanmer's “it's seven for Frankie!” on that unparalleled afternoon that Dettori ruled Ascot? Or Simon Holt's 2006 King George Chase exclamation that “Kauto Star lights up Kempton, and Kauto Star wins the King George!” Or, set against the background of Frankel's career finale at Ascot, Richard Hoiles's rousing “All comers, all ground, all beaten!”

I spoke to some longstanding celebrities in this challenging and high-pressured sphere about their defining personal race call and who they judge to be the race-caller's caller. First up was Simon Holt, who held the prime-TV slot with Channel 4 Racing from the turn of the century to 2016. Unsurprisingly, he can't look beyond Frankel and picks out that euphoric afternoon at York as Sir Henry Cecil's great composition took apart a class field assembled for the 2012 G1 Juddmonte International.

“It is difficult to single one out, but I called Frankel and there was an amazing atmosphere at York that day,” he says. “People who don't normally go flat racing were there, as they didn't want to miss it. He made Farhh and St Nicholas Abbey look like selling platers and the story was such a poignant one. It is a day I really remember and York's finest hour, I think.”

For Holt, his inspiration came from several sources, beginning with 'The Voice of Racing' himself, the late, great O'Sullevan.

“I remember growing up hearing Sir Peter's fantastic Gold Cup calls of Dawn Run and Desert Orchid and his voice resonates even now,” he adds. “My other influences come from Australia, where they put a bit of performance into it. Bill Collins, who they called 'The Accurate One', was fantastic, as was John Tapp. Ian Craig was brilliant and there was Greg Miles, who was a very pleasant man too. At the moment, Matt Hill is in his prime and is just superb–the best in the world.”

One of the most famous Antipodeans is Jim McGrath, whose tones could be heard emanating from the BBC from 1997 to 2012. Renowned for his storming finales, he stresses that his working logic was simple.

“My criteria was a) don't cock it up, 2) get the result right and 3) anticipate the race and the way it will happen,” he explains. “As for the one call I'm most happy about, it is Sea the Stars's Arc. It was a really important race for the horse and capped a fantastic career, but it was also dramatic in that it looked like it was not really going to work out the way Oxx and Kinane would have scripted it. He had traffic problems at different stages and his brilliance enabled him to get out and win with authority.”

That G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe of 2009 warrants repeated viewing. As Kinane is stuck in a pocket in the home straight, McGrath yells that “he'll have to be a champion!” When the gap comes and Sea the Stars is unleashed, the commentator states that he is “perfection in equine form, a horse of a lifetime!”

McGrath followed O'Sullevan at the “beeb” and is aware of his debt to the legendary figure. “He was my mentor and the standard and benchmark that he set is still there,” he says, before echoing Holt's assertion about the famed Bill Collins. “For me growing up in Australia, I admired Bill Collins who went on for about 40 years and was an outstanding broadcaster and race-caller,” he adds. “I used to listen to him on the radio and he was a huge influence and he certainly was the 'Accurate One.' He did other sports too and was a light variety entertainer and all-round presenter.”

Sticking to the Australian connection, the aforementioned Matt Hill is one of his country's pre-eminent callers and his highlight is still fresh. “I think personally my favourite call is the 2019 Melbourne Cup,” he states. “Most race callers are very self-critical and, as always, I would like a second crack at every race I call. Last year's Cup had a frantic ending with four across the track and I don't think I could have changed too much.”

Of his influences, some familiar names appear. “In Australia, a man by the name of Bill Collins is the greatest I have heard but my idols were also the ABC race caller Greg Miles and channel 7 sports commentator Bruce McAvaney who called races earlier in his career. As I developed as a young caller, I first heard Jim McGrath calling the 1999 Cox Plate and I was taken with his voice and style. I thought the international sound mixed with the Aussie style was a great mix.”

Most Brits of middle age or older will recall with great sentiment the timbre of Channel 4 Racing's Graham Goode, or “GG”, as he is affectionately known. Throughout the 80s and 90s, his singular delivery was set as backdrop to some of the sport's most harked-back to moments. It is from smack in the middle of his heyday that he pulls out his own special occasion.

“The 1990 Breeders' Cup Mile, with Piggott and Royal Academy, is one I remember quite specifically,” he says. “It was a little bit eerie, as after a furlong and a half or two I had this premonition that Lester was going to win. I was looking through the 'bins' and the hairs on the back of my neck were standing up. I just simply knew he'd win and I was surprised that it ended up as close as it was. It was the whole shebang with Lester and all the shenanigans leading up to the race, as he had great difficulty getting the right documentation to get into the country. It was all bubbling up under the surface and the mix of the occasion and the race itself meant that it was a special commentary.”

GG's pedestal is preserved for just one man. The immortal, unchanging god of commentating, Sir Peter (again). “It has to be O'Sullevan,” he concludes. “His homework, his contacts and his knowledge meant his back-up was extraordinary. I remember thinking it was a million to one I could become a commentator, but it was listening to him that got me going and look where I ended up.”