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Have to say the HD picture is fabulous,almost makes it worthwhile seeing your selections get stuffed.
That was a killer stat that Rishi gave earlier, about no Gold Cup winner having backed up at Aintree since Golden Miller.
Good grief.
The commentary on the novices’ hurdle was dreadful and that set the tone for the rest of the day.
Jim…. I like you a lot and I like listening to you talk about racing when you’ve got time to gather your thoughts and chat in a relaxed style – but today was very very bad.
I quite enjoyed the coverage today overall although i would agree the commentary is not the best.
The detail of looking back over the race after each was pretty decent, particularly the foxhunters.
I saw it today, and I rather enjoyed it. If nothing else, it was a change from Channel 4!
I like the sound of the horses racing – it gives you a really good feel for the race, in my opinion.
Remember – this is the Beeb doing a sport that isn’t football, for an audience that may not be big fans.
Plus – when they played the music they always play for the National, my hairs stood on end…everybody now "dum dum dum de dum dum, dum dum dum de dum dum, dum de dum dum, dum de dum diddle dee"
BlueSky @pghenn.bsky.social
So don't run, just like the others always do
On the point of dropping a commentator purely on the grounds of cost cutting. The Beeb are putting us away surely. If they are concerned about cutting costs then why have sent their usual full team to Augusta for the Masters or why not cut out some of the faces (largely unknown to me as a non football man) on their footiefest that takes up an hour of good time on a Saturday Lunchtime.
No I don’t buy that one at all. Not a big Bartlett fan though either.
Plus – when they played the music they always play for the National, my hairs stood on end…everybody now "dum dum dum de dum dum, dum dum dum de dum dum, dum de dum dum, dum de dum diddle dee
Me too. That’s when the excitement starts. I’m a bit like that with the Channel 4 racing music for Cheltenham.
Today wasn’t too bad. It was the usual fare from the Beeb, commentaries adequate.
My only gripe is the continual inane "so how did you FEEL?" questions thrown at anyone involved in any race.I like the sound of the horses racing – it gives you a really good feel for the race, in my opinion.
It’s fake, isn’t it?
A few times today it seemed like someone pressed the button on "fence noise" too early. There was the sound of horses skimming over birch a long way before they jumped.
He also does comments in running for Raceform and the Racing Post, frequently at better-class meetings than he’d actually get the call-up to commentate at. I’m pretty sure he did a couple of days at the Cheltenham Festival in that capacity, for example.
How is it decided who is going to do the comments and is it a case of someone just watching back loads of replays?
I used to be a big Jim McGrath fan but I thought today he was very poor and a shadow of the commentator he used to be. The Bowl commentary was poor and he seems to make the error of saying things he expects to see rather than what is actually happening.
Also, I didn’t like the laboured over-use of Dunwoody during mid-race – it seemed contrived in comparison to Francomes effortless performance on the other channel.
The BBC team, as a whole, are not all that bad but are guilty of trying a little too hard. Stark contrast to the CH 4 team who sometimes sound so underwhelemed that they take the whole buzz out of things. Could be a function of the Beeb personnel only getting the occasional outing (normally on extra-special days too, with the pressure on) whereas the CH 4 team can quite often be found trying to make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear at something run-of-the-mill.
Yep, you’re right, there’s just no pleasing me.
Here’s the run-down of the runners in the BBC Stakes-
Balding
– top class and a grade ahead of the others – but can boil over in the paddock prior to the race
Persad
– races over-keenly and can be a bit green
Fitzgerald
– workmanlike but capable of the odd flash of brilliance
Bartlett
– always sure to run his race, consistent
McGrath
– repeatedly fails to recapture old form despite being given every chance by handicapper, top class in his day though
Dunwoody
– always handy, races prominently but sometimes style tiumphs over substance and can be found wanting for toe final furlong
Parrot and Wiltshire
– Not quite Kauto Star and Denman but useful nonetheless. Parrot lbs better around Aintree than elsewhere.
Highlight of the day for me was that footage of a very young Josh Gifford being interviewed. Plus some of his stories – ‘I wasn’t envious of Terry Biddlecombe’s numerous nights out, I was usually with him.’
Great stuff.
Don`t know why they couldn`t have made more of the Gifford feature – was expecting a longer piece.
None of the BBC lot have made broadcasters.
OK Balding does a fair job but ruins things going on the course announcement `ladies and gentlemen’ indeed – at
least it wasn`t `My lords ladies and gentlemen’ today.It`s a bit too easy to knock the commentators They`re
not my favourites but thought Owen and Bartlett were acceptable. The major disappointment about Jim is that the BBC thought they were getting the finest available.
Don`t suppose it`s worth the BBC tinkering too much with how little racing they broadcast.Perhaps it`s never been great though. I know I`ll be a lone voice in admitting to have liked John Hanmer`s efforts.
I like the sound of the horses racing – it gives you a really good feel for the race, in my opinion.
It’s fake, isn’t it?
A few times today it seemed like someone pressed the button on "fence noise" too early. There was the sound of horses skimming over birch a long way before they jumped.
I’m pretty sure it is, and that the BBC admitted it a few years ago.
Rb………thanks for that, I knew it!!! Thought I was going mad for the last few years and was the only one who had noticed it. It just seems so pointless, as well as extremely annoying.
As for rest of coverage, i agree with the comments about the Josh Gifford piece, just not enough of it, it was over before it began.
The camera used at Bechers, as expected, was just wrong. Sorry to nag on about this, but the old camera angles used to cover the race unfolding perfectly!
I forget her name, the girl who does the Football league Show on BBC, her segments were woeful. Bartlett and Owen, were very good, they seemed to capture most of the fallers, but as for McGrath today. Not good was it?
I liked Hanmer too TP. Something resonant about his voice, which you only seemed to hear on GN day, so it always instantly evokes great memories of the great race for me.
Not sure I’d have wanted him for a five furlong dash at Sandown though.
I’m not one to complain about commentators too much, UK race-callers on the whole are the best in the world, however McGrath was woeful today.
Clare Balding relates what’s going on in a way that’s credible to both full time followers and viewers with a more passive interest, which is a rare skill to have in the racing media. She’s better without Carson, I like the roving stuff in the paddock pre-race. She carries the show almost single handedly.
Waffling ex-jockeys of whom Francome is their leader, add very little. The Beeb should borrow some decent analysts from RUK (Mellish,Cunningham, Fremantle, Barr)for the day.
I think they could make more use of Wiltshire in the betting ring.
They should beef up the sound effects from the race itself. The breathing of the horses, the noise they make as they cross the fences, the urgings of the jockeys, should all be audible and would add a huge amount to the viewing experience for both committed and day trip fans alike.
Don’t know why they replayed Aidan Coleman’s fall in slow motion when the jockey was still horizontal and apparently seriously injured at the time.
The I-Player is great.
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