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Not heard his commentary in a while, but when there was a photo finish he would say “I’ll leave that to the judge”. Don’t know if he still says it.
He was very reserved in his role as a lackey to Peter Bromley on Radio 2, commentating on the first half of the Ces ect. Sounded a completely different character to the one that eventually hit the screens in the early 80’s but then again I doubt there would be any messing about under the wing of Bromley.
Photo finish? He says it every time the winning distance is less than half a length!
A permanent fixture in the relegation zone of my commentator league table.
....and you've got to look a long way back for anything else.
“I’m a commen-tater. Genius.”
Just had to watch this again, howling loooool how on earth did he come up with that on the spot
With Saint Derek of Thompson, you either “get it” or you don’t.
I am as big a racing geek as anyone on this forum but, where Derek is concerned, I put down the bins with the 586 badges tied to them like old war medals, put away my form book, hang up the anorak in the cloak room and have a jolly good laugh at racing’s most entertaining front man by a country mile.
He definitely doesn’t take himself too (or even at all) seriously and he still has me in stitches after all these years.
I wouldn’t mind betting he’s opened up the fun of racing and having a flutter to more casual racegoers clutching ice creams at places like Yarmouth than ITV Racing could ever hope to do, and I think he’s just brilliant.
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It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"I fully agree Ian. As I think I’ve said previously, he fascinates me. I’d actually go out of my way to listen to him commentate, interview etc. It may well be my age (50) and it being related to watching the “halcyon” days of C4 Racing in the 80s, but even though I’m fairly sure that politically we’d all be miles apart, watching him, McCririck, Francome, Down etc evokes great memories. The fact Thommo retains as much enthusiasm as ever – even on a Monday evening at Chelmsford – into his 70s is absolutely to his credit. To me at least, his character and personality are infectious.
100% agree – great summary of him.
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It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"Thommo managed to mention how one of the runners in the opener at Sedgefield is owned by Mystic Meg.
She must already know the result!
I've stumbled on the side of twelve misty mountains
I've walked and I crawled on six crooked highwaysVery disappointing that Thommo did not do a Billy Cotton impression for Wakey Wakey in the juvenile hurdle:
I feel sorry for him in that the race in which there were two fatalities was a memorial race for his parents and he was very upset having to comment on the break downs.
Yes, that must have been very difficult for him.
I know we have a bit of fun with some of his commentaries but – as I have said before – I do genuinely like him and think he has been a real asset to racing, especially when he was part of that great Channel 4 team in the 1980s.
Living legend.
I am "The Horse Racing Punter" on Facebook
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It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"Glad to see he’s getting the recognition he deserves from proper racing fans on here.
He makes time for absolutely everyone who asks him for it and the enthusiasm he has for the sport means he sometimes get caught up in the moment and fluffs his lines somewhat.
Showing genuine enthusiasm for a selling handicap in the dead of winter at some hell hole like Southwell or lingfield when you don’t have a financial interest in the race is something I challenge anybody on here to do!
I’m determined to bump into him on the track one day and pretend I don’t know who he is. Approach him and say excuse me Dereck can you take a PHOTOOOO of me and the mrs.
Huh huh huh easy big fella
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