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Massive loss to terrestrial coverage. A world class commentator. Probably the best of them all.
His call of Master Minded’s 2008 Queen Mother is my favorite commentary of all time.
I’d love to know the logic behind leaving him out…??
I suppose it was the idea of him and Luck being the voice and face of Ch 4 – too linked to the old to be associated with the new.
Holt is by far and away the best commentator on the circuit at the moment. Listening to Ian Bartlett is painful
Massive loss to terrestrial coverage. A world class commentator. Probably the best of them all.
World class he certainly isn’t, that’s patently ludicrous, but he is very good.
He wasn’t called “Languid” for nothing by McCririck. Anyone who has enjoyed his low-key and minimalist racecourse commentaries at places like Plumpton, Lingfield and Brighton would struggle to describe them as world class or even parish class.
He did make more of an effort for his television commentaries, however, and was very competent and engaging. I liked his big race commentaries and he did a good job at Kempton, although his last race was far from error-free.
I would rather listen to him any day than the smug and irritating Richard Hoiles, who will be an absolute pain on ITV. Give me Simon Holt any day. He will certainly be a big loss but he seems to think it was purely because he was too closely associated with Channel 4.
Self-delusional, probably, because Richard Hoiles has been both seen and heard regularly on Channel 4, including looking incredibly cheery and sounding very chirpy at Chepstow today. I fear the worst for ITV.
I’ve said on the last moments thread that the montage at the end of today’s coverage showed what a loss Holt will be. Maybe he did save his best for the big occasion but some of those commentaries will last long in the memory.
Think we are blessed with top quality commentators in this country. Two still ahead of their field, Holt and Hoiles – can’t separate them. Don’t understand why the latter is getting so much flack here, rarely misses a thing. “Smug” is one thing he aint.
Value Is EverythingI would be in the Crusty camp on this one. In my opinion Holt far less irritating than clever dickie Hoiles.
Think we are blessed with top quality commentators in this country. Two still ahead of their field, Holt and Hoiles – can’t separate them. Don’t understand why the latter is getting so much flack here, rarely misses a thing. “Smug” is one thing he aint.
Hoiles may or may not be smug-I wouldn’t know, as I haven’t met him in person for about thirty years- but he is prone to exaggerating distances in running.
Given that accuracy is one of the fundamental requirements of a race commentator, that immediately disqualifies him from the “top class” category.
He wasn’t called “Languid” for nothing by McCririck. Anyone who has enjoyed his low-key and minimalist racecourse commentaries at places like Plumpton, Lingfield and Brighton would struggle to describe them as world class or even parish class.
I’d consider that a strength, Crusty. No need to turn a Monday chase at Plumpton into the Grand National. We’ve all listened to race callers globally at this stage, I recall few who are better anywhere else. So “world class” will do for me.
As I’d said before, I take my hat off to all of the British callers who by and large do what seems to be a difficult job, very well. Some however are just born with the voice and delivery skills to standout at it, Holt is in that category imo.
Perhaps we even undersell the importance of the commentator as part of a hook into the sport. Sir Peter O’Sullevan’s commentaries at the festival in the early eighties certainly helped deepen my interest at that early stage. Similarly I’d watch the rugby just because Bill Mclaren was commentating.
Self-delusional, probably, because Richard Hoiles has been both seen and heard regularly on Channel 4, including looking incredibly cheery and sounding very chirpy at Chepstow today. I fear the worst for ITV.
That’s unfair on Richard Hoiles. I’ve met him on a number of occasions and he has a cheery nature as a matter of course. If there’s something wrong with that then the world’s in trouble…
Yeah I can’t stand hoiles either. Maybe its genuine I don’t really care but just find him vomit-inducingly smug.
One thing I didn’t like about Holt is the way he’d get so falsely exciteable at the finish of a race- almost screaming.
Which is fine if you’ve backed the winner but if haven’t then it felt like he was rubbing it in. You’d long for the more understated tones of O’Sullevan.
For that reason I won’t miss Holt.
I think both are very good. Probably just prefer Holt although he does most of the biggest races. Haydock 2011 “…and Kauto Star is still the King”
Commentators matter in selling racing to the general public, just as they do in selling any sport. Get the wrong one and we will all turn the sound down, or – even worse – switch it off.
I’m lucky enough to have grown up listening to PO’S. SH is the nearest to that class that I’ve listened to over the years. He’s mostly accurate, measured and – where appropriate – eloquent. That latter quality is what marks him out from the run-of-the-mill ‘race-card’ commentator. It figures in his descriptions of quality horses (e.g. Sprinter’s two Champion Chases; Vautour’s Ryanair; Denman’s GC … ), of racing history in the making (e.g. Ingles Drever & Big Buck’s in the Stayers’ Hurdle, Kauto’s 5th KG, Denman’s second Hennessy) and of unbelievable rides (e.g. AP on Wichita Lineman). People who don’t know much about horse racing can learn about it from his commentating.
What also marks him out for me is his care for, and about, injured and fallen NH horses. Simonsig is just the most recent example. As I was watching yesterday’s Welsh National, I noticed Onenightinvienna (prominent on the first circuit) being pulled up. This was not mentioned by Bartlett at all in running, or in any of the post-race aftermath, but it was reported on another forum last night that he is sadly no longer with us. SH, I feel, would not have missed that.
Thanks Simon, for creating a sound track that has matched the great performances of recent jumps racing history. I will miss you & think ITV has made a big mistake.
Have to say that I like Simon Holt and I’m quite pleased he will be heard more in the betting shops than on TV from now on, but, having watched the King George live on C4 and now the replay on Racing Uk Mark Johnson’s commentary on track at Kempton is far superior and totally encapsulates the moment that the superstar that is Thistlecrack has arrived on the big stage than Holt’s C4 commentary does. Well done Mark.
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