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"Only look at the colours as the horses are going to post". He used to waste a lot of time looking at the colours on his way to the track but has only come into his own since dispensing with this.
You can see from Mike’s efforts as a commentator in recent years this system has served him well.
I wonder if Peter O’Sullevan would have been an even better commentator if he had used this system rather than doing all that preparation and homework.He also revealed that Simon Holt was a major contributory factor in encouraging him to be a commentator.
Well done Simon!I take it you are not a fan of The Cat then Eddie?
I would say he has a point and I think it is the approach used by most commentators – I can only think of a couple who I regularly see going through the colours in the press room before racing (it doesn’t mean others don’t on their way to the course).
Learning colours is something that has always intrigued me and it is something I have often asked various commentators about. The almost universal response is they have already seen most of the runners in previous races so they get to know the colours quite well. The races where they do have to put in the "extra effort" are the early season two-year-old races and bumpers where there are a large number of the runners are newcomers.
I don’t think learning colours should be confused with doing "homework" i.e. brushing up on stats and previous form etc., which is something they all do almost without fail.
When they don’t they soon come a cropper. There was a case of an AW meeting where one of out top commentators tried to "fly it" without doing enough "homework" and he admitted afterwards he had totally effed up in not doing so.
There is also one commentator, famed for his photographic memory, who can have a field of 20 newcomers and all he has to do is scan the colours 30 seconds before they come out and he has learned them – now that does make you sick
In the old days, before replays, or at least the guarantee of replays, I frequently had to learn 100+ colours in order to do a report. This I used to do by swotting them up in advance. The O’Sullevan approach if you like.
But those were the days in which I had a much better longer-term memory than I have now. If it hasn’t happened in the last half hour or, ironically, about 20 years ago I am unlikely to recall it as clearly as I used to. Faced with the same challenge today I would use Cattermole’s approach.
Can’t imagine how hard a job it must have been in the days of black and white television….
Catt’s method doesn’t surprise me particularly. I’ve never done a commentary, other than to myself, but for race-reading purposes I confirm the colours as the horses go down and circle at the start. I do a quick pre-race run through the colours on the racecard, then cover up the colours and test myself on them. Once this is done it’s just a question of confirming colours on the way down and checking any different shades. I call out the names as horses go past and I’m sure some think I’m, round the twist!
Watching racing regularly in one area helps. I pick out familiar colours and identify them mentally either by owner or horse, such as ‘Wylie’, ‘Gigginstown Stud’, ‘David Johnson’, ‘Rayson Nixon’, ‘Alexanders’ or whoever. I couldn’t give you an exact the colours for horses such as Yankee Holiday or Casual Affair, but I can spot them immediately. Mind you I wouldn’t be far short of first name terms with the likes of Yankee Holiday, so often have I seen them run.
I can cope with jumps much easier than the flat. Racereading 18 runners in the Highland National or a handicap hurdle is a darned sight easier than the same number over six furlongs at Ayr or Hamilton.
Rob
I’m not a big fan of Mike Cattermole as a commentator. I usually notice which horse as fallen about two fences before he does.
…for race-reading purposes I confirm the colours as the horses go down and circle at the start. I do a quick pre-race run through the colours on the racecard, then cover up the colours and test myself on them. Once this is done it’s just a question of confirming colours on the way down and checking any different shades. I call out the names as horses go past and I’m sure some think I’m, round the twist!
I think you have summed up what a lot of the callers actually do.
There is one who watches the jocks come out of the weighing room calling out the appropriate horses name as each jockey emerges.
Another "calls" them as they pass through camera shot at the start.
Both, however, look as though they are talking to themselves.
Not really sure what to make of Mike’s comments… If it works for him, great, but I suspect many commentators do not memorize as well as they should. The fashion these days is to call more of the race off the monitor and that gives one time to look at the color chart repeatedly.
Speaking of which, very few commentators use a color chart these days and just rely on the charts available to print out online.
I obtain the Equibase charts the day before racing and draw out the silks next to each horse. then go over the names of the connections and the horses breeding to make sure I have the correct pronunciation (often tough with many Spanish names and horses with three letter prefixes as part of their names.)
I then write in a kind of short hand some of the stats for each horse and it may look like this: 3rd LTO @ EVD over 5f, btn. 2 1/2 by #7. Up in class today, tackles 5f 1st time. 2/10. 3? 48k +
Translation: 3rd last time out at Evangeline Downs, beaten 2 and a half lengths by the #7. Steps up in class today and races over 5 furlongs for the first time. Has won 2 of its ten races, going for a hat-trick and amassed $48000 in prize money. Plus sign denotes the horse is a front runner.
The next day I arrive at the track usually 3-4 hours before post time and go over the jockey and trainer stats and may add to my notes something like:T and J 38% 2yo at 2010 meet. Translation: trainer and Jockey have a 38% strike rate for racing two year olds at the 2010 meet.
About an hour before post time, I get the final changes and make my way to the commentary box. I do most of my color memorization between races. I like to just picture the silks on the jockey in my mind and it is almost a form of meditation.
Sadly, in the USA, they neglect to tel lyou color changes, so I usually try to see the jockeys in the paddock and make last minute adjustments to my color chart. It is common in a 12 horse race to have six or more color changes. By the time of the post parade, if I do not have them all memorized, I know I am in trouble.
Craig.
"Only look at the colours as the horses are going to post".
Hmmn, it now becomes clear.
Mike is my least favourite commentator, as time and again, he gives me the impression that he will talk about anything during a race bar naming the horses’ positions.
In a 12-16 runner field, he rarely gets past the first hald dozen, before merely repeating the same names moments later.
I would prefer if he put more effort into race preparation.
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