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Did anyone else hear Ian Bartlett tell Willie Carson to "shut up" during the commentary of the Queen Alexandra?
Given Mr Bartlett’s exemplary job of calling the 2011 Prix Du Jockey Club not to mention the 2010 Prix De La Foret "and Goldikova looks beat", I found his arrogant dismissal of one of the best jockeys this country has produced rather annoying.
I suppose some would say it is typical of the arrogance displayed by the modern sports broadcaster. Mick Fitzgerald was a breath of fresh air on BBC, displaying a degree of seriousness sadly lacking in the likes of Persad and his cohorts.
Oh, and while I am at it, if Lydia Hislop is so utterly bored of not broadcasting on Royal Ascot as it sounds tonight doing the studio voice overs on RUK, then why not let someone else do it who would a) welcome the work/money and b) display a broader passion for the game.
I this instance I think they were just having banter, and I’m sure Willie Carson would say no different. No malice in it at all.
Maybe, but it was live TV albeit behind the red button. I am sure if Willie’s retort to him was "just make sure you get the finishing order right this time Bartie" Mr Bartlett would have been the first to throw the toys out of the pram. I am sure Willie has forgotten more about riding than all of the people he works with on TV will ever know, and yet time and again he has to accept these petty, childish put downs.
I thought, not for the first time this week, that Bartlett was getting a little irritated by Willie’s random ramblings. And not without due cause.
I am sure the racing professionals on the Beeb (esp. Clare Balding, although she is too nice and professional to ever say so) live in trembling fear of what he will say next.
The BBC (in general) seem to hang on to people longer than they should. I am sure that Willie Carson has his audience, and he is a well known face/voice that I am sure ‘works’ in terms of brand recognition and all that stuff but, as a racing pundit/commentator he has serious limitations. There are any number employed in the broadcasting field whose boots Willie couldn’t lace in terms of current knowledge.
Willie – if you’re looking in or if someone highlights this page to you – I think you are, along with Sir Gordon Richards, the greatest lightweight jockey this country has seen in the last century, and I am proud to call you a fellow Scot. But perhaps now, in the face of all the bright, young competition in the broadcasting arena, is the time to head for that beach in the Caribbean.
I was wondering when we’d see the Willie Carson rant Corm!
I imagine you’re taking a deep breath and putting the kettle on as I type
But yes, the ‘shut up’ from Bartlett did make my ears prick up and I was caught between two stools IJ. One, that I could understand Bartlett’s frustration and two, that Barty should have been concentrating on calling the race (esp. in light of recent events) rather than indulging in idle mid-race chit-chat.
I’m not a fan of the celeb race-reader chipping in mid-race with his in-running analysis. I know that CH 4 employ it quite routinely (and for me Francome is by far the best at this particular niche of racing broadcasting) but for me it disrupts the commentary flow (and none of them, inc JF, are any better than the commentators at interpreting how things are shaping up). I’d rather let them type away at a keyboard and let me choose whether to display their comments in-running or not.
Not really telly/entertainment though, I accept. And I also accept the BBC are appealing to a much wider audience than us racing anoraks. Which is where the Carson recognition factor comes in I guess.
Can’t comment on Lydia as I never heard it but I’d be very surprised if she were anything less than super-enthused by Royal Ascot so I’m surprised she didn’t come across that way.
One of my big bug-bears is the "mid race race reader summary" as I believe the race commentator should be left alone to describe what is happening. While I can just about put up with the likes of Francome on CH4 doing a brief mid-race summary in a three mile steeplechase, what I heard pass for a commentary for the two races behine the BBC red button today was a joke.
For those who didn’t see this (maybe they saw sense and took in Hoiles or Holts course commentary), it went something like this.
Stalls opened, Barty lists the leaders, Carson chunters on about going down the outside (still living off the Bahri memories eh?) and finally shuts up to allow Barty to cover the final two furlongs.
I presume the BBC bosses wanted to create the "Buddy Buddy" commentary style of sports such as Football, F1, Athletics where you have lead commentator and summariser. (I think John Hunt has to share the mic with Luke Harvey for his Five Live shifts).
Message to BBC – "Buddy Buddy" doesn’t work. This is HORSE RACING not MOTOR RACING!!!!
To allow some balance to my rant, the one person who can quickly nip in, make his point, then let the commentator do his job is Mick Fitz.
Ultimately, I’m with Barty. Willie, please SHUT UP!!!!
Yep Carry On Katie – F1 lasts two hours with lots of dull moments where fillers can chunter aimlessly. Flat races last one to four mnutes and every second counts so no room for wanderings down memory lane.
Great move on Bahri but everyone has the message now! (And to be fair it’s not Willie who has instigated these is my recollection this week)
Another one who should take a break
is Rishi, I keep waiting for him to say "the brown horse is stuck behind the black" enough jack-of-all people on BBC, horses for courses IMO.Its not just Willie though is it? The BBC use established names in all sports regardless of whether they are any good.
I remember dear old Sally Gunnell. Kelly Holmes was another shocker and Denise Lewis isnt much better. I wouldnt know where to begin with the football and let’s not forget John Parrot.
Poor old Peter "er er er er.." Scudamore was kept for far too long and Richard blinking Pitman is still there! The only sport they do well nowadays is Golf thanks to the genius that is Peter Alliss.
Willie is a legend of course and I would so like him to be good but Corm is right – you can see The Balding squirm every time he speaks.
"this perfect mix of poetry and destruction, this glory of rhythm, power and majesty: the undisputed champion of the world!!!"
i really cant stand willie carson i agree he was an excellent jockey probably one of the best imo but as a presenter one of the worst
but Corm is right – you can see The Balding squirm every time he speaks.
And it gives me no pleasure to say so, the opposite in fact.
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Yep Carry On Katie – F1 lasts two hours with lots of dull moments where fillers can chunter aimlessly.
Corm, you can’t have been watching the F1 this year – blink and you miss five passes! It’s the tyres and adjustable rear wings. Quite marvellous. No time at all for idle chunter (discounting breaks for rain). Button’s last gasp Canada win was up there with Canford Cliffs/Goldikova.
Indeed Pinza, I haven’t been. Might tune in though if they’ve made it a bit more ‘racy’.
I pay a lot of attention to what Mr Carson says about horses conformation and breeding; he said before last years Derby that Rewilding was unfurnished and would get better with time, and wouldn’t be drawn into the eulogies being thrown around about the Queen’s horse in the Derby. I thoroughly enjoyed this years coverage of Royal Ascot. One minute someone complains of Lydia sounding bored and then someone complains of Rishi, who is almost bursting out of his skin with with excitement at the awe and wonder that is Ascot week. Had to be amused when Clare said that Hayley Turner had just kissed Jamie Spencer, though, when it was one of the male jockeys’ a faux pas of the highest order methinks. Sorry Clare!
Even more irritating than the interruptions to commentary on television are the interruptions in commentary on the radio.
At least on the TV you can still see the race, on the radio you are relying on the commentary 100%.
The worst one last year was at York in last years Juddmonte which Dick Turpin was running in, mid-commentary Cornelius Lysaght interrupted John Hunt not to discuss the race but to tell a story about Dick Turpin the Highwayman . . . . . FFS
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