The voice of horse racing

JIM McGrath’s pilgrimages to York Racecourse this summer will be tinged with nostalgia as he reminisces on a commentary career that saw him ultimately succeed the incomparable and ageless Sir Peter O’Sullevan as the BBC’s ‘voice of racing’.

It will be 30 years since this proud Australian, who learned his craft by commentating on greyhound racing in Melbourne, called his first race in the UK after a chance conversation brought him to the iconic Knavesmire for the 1984 Ebor meeting.

Even though McGrath hung up his broadcasting microphone for the final time last year, he is still one of horse racing’s most respected journalists and his anniversary by writing an elegantly produced coffee table book, Great Racetracks of the World, that he has co-written with his longstanding acquaintance Trevor Marmalade.

It chronicles more than 200 of the “most important” racecourses in the world and Yorkshire is well represented ahead of today’s season-opening Dante meeting – York, Doncaster, Ripon, Redcar, Pontefract and Beverley also feature.

McGrath says the aim was to provide a guide to those people who now follow the international racing shown by satellite channels like At The Races. “All the Group One tracks around the world were included. It is not meant to be the most comprehensive book ever produced on the topic because there have been several others,” he explained.

“If you are sitting at home in the middle of the night watching Australian racing from Caulfield or Rosehill, hopefully the track will be referred to in the book. Both Trevor and I are passionate about the topic. Trevor is an Aussie Rules commentator and stand-up comedian. The book was his idea. He wanted Europe and Asia to be covered, and that is where I came in.”

As horse racing’s most travelled commentator, McGrath could not be better qualified. He has called the winners in 16 different countries and his distinctive voice – which has become more Anglicised with the passing of time – has been heard at every track in Britain.

McGrath has also observed the great contrast in designs from Moonee Valley in the Melbourne suburbs, and which has a home straight of just one furlong, to the Knavesmire’s sweeping expanse.

“Moonee Valley is a beautifully constructed tack built like a velodrome. It’s a very short run to the post and it is just amazing how the horses cope with it,” he said. “Racecourses in England in particular were built to test the racehorse, and to test the ability of a horse to show its true talent.

“Places like Australia, America and the Far East – these tracks have been built essential for the spectator. That Britain races at places like Warwick, Exeter and Cartmel where you can’t see the whole race, they would think we were crazy. The same with the old two mile start at York before it was moved – from the stands you couldn’t see it because it was close to the Tadcaster Road. York is a beautiful racecourse and it has very fine memories for me.”

McGrath’s racing odyssey began in Hong Kong before he ventured to Ireland and Dublin’s now defunct Phoenix Park racecourse where he had the good fortune to meet John Sanderson, the then boss of York.

They agreed that McGrath would deputise for Raleigh Gilbert, a name familiar to viewers of the then ITV Seven, for the final race of the day.

McGrath takes up the story. “Raleigh was very old school and had the most beautiful speaking voice. I was quite edgy beforehand and the guy from Racecourse Technical Services, who work with all the broadcasting equipment, came up to the box. He said to me ‘Now McGrath, make sure you call them correctly’. I thought to myself that I hadn’t come 12,000 miles to get it wrong so I would do my best.”

It is an anecdote shared by the aforementioned Sanderson whose IRM racecourse management firm runs Wetherby, Redcar, Thirsk and Catterick. “Raleigh wasn’t too pleased. It was a completely different style of commentating. It was much more Australian,” he recalled. “Jim would use phrases like ‘the one in the blue is mowing them down one by one as he comes the widest of all’. I can remember one distinguished member saying ‘this guy is fantastic’ while old Lady Halifax, the mother of the present Lord Halifax, said ‘I can’t understand a word he says’. The style was much more reserved before Jim came along. In those days, the commentator was supposed to stop talking about 100 yards from the line so not to influence the judge if there was a photo-finish. Jim produced a new refreshing style.”

As for the commentator who became known as ‘Aussie Jim’ or ‘Croc’ to differentiate himself from Yorkshire’s very own Jim McGrath, the walking encyclopaedia when it comes to form, he has two standout York memories.

The first was the 1992 International when Lester Piggott, back in the saddle after retirement, produced a masterful ride at the age of 56 on Rodrigo de Triano to beat the Epsom Derby winner Dr Devious. McGrath says the race still has to be seen to be believed.

The second, he says, was the raw emotion when the world-beating Frankel turned the 2012 Juddmonte International into a one-horse race – and the acclaim as the wonderhorse was greeted by his trainer Sir Henry Cecil who would succumb to cancer 10 short months later.

McGrath is the first to admit that he misses the buzz of calling the big races like the Grand National and Epsom Derby while acknowledging that he is happy to forego the drudgery of Friday and Saturday nights at a soul-less Wolverhampton.

This was self-evident at last year’s National when he appeared to be a slightly lost soul as he squeezed into the press box to watch the Sue Smith-trained Auroras Encore prevail for Yorkshire under Ryan Mania. “I’ve had 40 years making a living out of commentating,” he reflected. “If you think about it, if anyone can make a living out of something they love for 40 years, that’s a particularly good knock. What makes a good commentary? First of all accuracy. Interpreting the race correctly. Interpreting the tactics and understanding the significance of the performance.”

McGrath’s mastery came to the fore at the denouement of the 2010 Grand National when the record-beaking AP McCoy cleared the final fence in front. As his mount Don’t Push It raced Black Apalachi on the run-in, McGrath said “Can he make it McCoy?” – this contest had always eluded jump racing’s iron man. His words were equally prescient as the outcome became clear: “He’s going to at last, he’s going to at last, win the Grand National. It’s Don’t Push It and Tony McCoy at the 15th attempt.”

His repeated use of the same phrase for extra emphasis encapsulated McCoy’s struggles. “Capture the moment, get the storyline, relay the atmosphere. That’s a great commentary,” added McGrath. And a great result.