Video and gallery: BBC’s voice of racing, Peter O’Sullevan dies at 97

O’Sullevan was the commentator for the BBC for 50 years, a tenure stretching from 1947 until his retirement in 1997.

Known for his sharp mind, even well into his later life, he had a delivery like no other and his description of the 1977 Grand National, which was Red Rum’s famous third success, and Desert Orchid’s popular Cheltenham Gold Cup victory in 1989 will never be forgotten.

He was awarded a knighthood before his 50th and final Grand National commentary and even until very recently was still a regular visitor to the Cheltenham Festival.

Nigel Payne, chief executive of the Sir Peter O’Sullevan Charitable Trust, said: “Sir Peter died earlier this afternoon, very peacefully, at home.

“Sir Peter was one of the greatest men I’ve ever known. Only last week he was talking about what he wanted me to do for the trust in the future. He was still very alert. It’s a sad day.”

O’Sullevan began his career in racing in print journalism, working for the Press Association before joining the Daily Express.

Known as one of the shrewdest punters in the game, he was still beating the bookies in his later years.

As well as being famous for his achievements behind the microphone, O’Sullevan was also a successful owner.

Be Friendly won the King’s Stand at Royal Ascot and the Prix de l’Abbaye at Longchamp as well as two Haydock Sprint Cups, and perhaps most famously of all his Attivo won the Triumph Hurdle at Cheltenham in 1974, a race O’Sullevan later described as the hardest to call in his life.

Sir Peter O’Sullevan interviewed by The Yorkshire Post’s Tom Richmond in April 2014

When he began his BBC career just after the Second World War, radio ruled the airwaves and television was still very much in its infancy.

O’Sullevan grew up with the new medium, calling home the horses in just about every big race in the calendar as he acquired the epithet ‘the Voice Of Racing’.

It was well-earned, reflecting both the respect in which he was held and his importance as the link between the sport and its army of armchair followers.

O’Sullevan was a career journalist from the mid-1940s, when he joined the Press Association’s racing department, and commentated for the BBC from 1948 to 1997, when he called the Grand National for the final time and closed his career with Suny Bay’s victory in the Hennessy.

In fact in the early part of his career he was better known as a newspaper journalist than a TV personality - he was rarely seen on-screen.

His glittering array of connections made him a must-read writer for the Daily Express, for whom he worked for 37 years and tipped many a big-race winner, usually supported with his own money, as he was well-known to enjoy a tilt at the ring.

He wrote as a punter, and it gave him a compulsively attractive edge, especially as he was clearly privy to inside knowledge garnered from high-profile friends and acquaintances including the likes of Vincent O’Brien, Aly Khan, Alec Head, Lester Piggott and Scobie Breasley.

But it was for his TV work that he will always be revered, bringing to his commentaries a heart-clutching excitement that required no vocal histrionics and retained a timeless dignity. They were accurate and informative; it was a wonderful bonus that they were delivered in such honeyed tones.

O’Sullevan, who was knighted in 1997, was born in Ireland to an English mother and Irish father, but after their divorce lived with his maternal grandparents in their Surrey country house. He was married to Pat for over 58 years before she died peacefully on New Year’s Eve in 2010 at the age of 89.

The list of great races O’Sullevan called during the second half of the 20th century includes all those that have won a place in the sport’s folklore.

Over jumps, he captured the mighty Arkle beating Mill House in the Cheltenham Gold Cup; Red Rum’s three Grand National triumphs; Bob Champion’s emotional National win; Dawn Run’s sensational Gold Cup victory and Desert Orchid’s dramatic success in the great race.

On the Flat, he called home greats like Ribot, Sea-Bird, Nijinsky, Mill Reef, Brigadier Gerard, Shergar and Dancing Brave.

And how his words resonate through the pages of racing history.

As Red Rum raced to a third Grand National triumph: “It’s hats off and a tremendous reception - you’ve never heard one like it at Liverpool!”

As Dawn Run launched her unforgettable charge up the Cheltenham hill in the Gold Cup: “The mare’s beginning to get up!”

He himself nominated Be Friendly’s victory in the inaugural Sprint Cup at Haydock in 1966 and Attivo’s success in the Triumph Hurdle as commentating highlights, while of the races with no personal connection he enjoyed the epic duel between Grundy and Bustino in the 1975 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes at Ascot.

SIR PETER O’SULLEVAN: FACTFILE

• Sir Peter John O’Sullevan (KBE 1997, CBE 1991, OBE 1977)

• Date of birth: March 3, 1918

Print career:

• Worked for John Lane, the Bodley Head, on editorial work and MSS reading.

• 1945-1950 Racing Correspondent, Press Association

• 1950-1986 Racing Correspondent, Daily Express

• 1986-1987 Racing Correspondent, Today

Broadcasting career:

• 1946-1997 BBC television and radio

• 1953, became the first regular BBC TV commentator to operate without a race-reader.

• 1960 first TV Grand National

• 1967 World’s first televised electronic horse race from Atlas computer at University of London

• 1980 commentated on first race to be transmitted by satellite from New York

• First TV commentary - Kempton Park, 1949

• Final TV commentary - Hennessy Cognac Gold Cup, 1997

Awards:

Derby Award for Racing Journalist of the Year 1971 (with Clive Graham); Racehorse Owner of the Year Award, Horserace Writers’ Assoc. 1974; Timeform Racing Personality 1974; Clive Graham Mem. Award for Services to racing, Press Club, 1978; Evening News Sports Commentator of the Year, 1978; William Hill Golden Spurs for services to racing, 1985; Derby Award 1987; Racing Club of Ireland par excellence Award 1993; Variety Club of Great Britain Media Award 1995, Lester Award by The Jockeys Association 1996; Royal Television Society Judges’ TV Sports Award 1996; Cartier Award of Merit 1997; Named as one of the eight inaugural “Grand National Legends” by Aintree in 2010.