Jeez, Tamerlo, I was working so it was just the sw set in the evenings, I left the Lego and other kits at home for me to play with when I returned..... Dan: I could not resist the comparison, so sorry!
I would imagine that ‘Channel 4 Racing’ are going to struggle big time again tomorrow for a couple of reasons. Namely (i) Lieutenant Miller has missed the cut in ‘Richard Pitman’s Derby’ and therefore hundreds of thousands won’t bother to tune in. Had Mr Henderson being on our screens then figures would have rocketed as countless numbers of his fans jostled for a glimpse of the great man, and (ii) On ITV1 at the same time is that old classic ‘Holiday On The Buses’. Glorified ponies running round in circles has its attractions but it can hardly compete with the antics of the likes of Stan, Olive, Blakie and that randy conductor. Plus I seem to recall that old boy Steptoe puts in an appearance as well!
Going back to Barney’s original criticisms: (i) Graham Cunningham does appear to be a bit of a ‘yes’ man and even has a Racing Post column now. If he has prior form elsewhere (Racing UK, At The Races) he does not seem to have brought it with him. (ii) Mick Fitzgerald is treading water until the National Hunt season where his inside knowledge might justify his salary. Forget not that the BBC used to have former jockeys (e.g. Willie Carson) for each code. (iii) (iv) Richie Persad is the token ethnic minority for political correctness. If they could have found a coloured woman, Gina Bryce would be it. (v) I am waiting for the fashion features at the Ebor Meeting and the St Leger Meeting. The girl on the checkout at Primark will be a lot cheaper than ‘Brix’. As far as Channel 4 coverage generally is concerned, I have long become accustomed to watching a few minutes of comment before the race, the thirty second advert just before they go in the stalls, the race, a few minutes of post race interview/analysis and then channel hopping the rest of the time. As I have never watched either of the dedicated racing channels it would be unfair to comment but I have no plans to sign up for either. Was I the only one that thought that Simon Holt did not have a great Royal Ascot with the microphone in hand? At the end of almost every race he was virtually shouting in an over excited way.
I felt that in quite a few races (especially the larger fields) he would mention one or two front runners during the race and completely miss horses that came through the pack or from behind until they were almost passed the winning post. If you were only listening to his commentary and not watching the race you would have a very poor idea of what was going on. During the Grand National I was not impressed by him at all - the ex-Beeb commentators who were used that day were better.
Its all personal preference really and i think that commentating on a 6f sprint with 16+ runners would be very hard for any commentator... I think Simon Holt is one of the best ones out there, but to be honest there isnt a great deal of competition for that title...
