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“Getaway Trump might just have got there”
No, he won by almost a length, let’s say three parts of. Unless you’re trying to deceive in-running punters what other reason might you have to call that a close finish?
This is what I hate the most in a tight finish: a commentator not being able to call the obvious result. Tommo is by far the worst, Jerry Hannon the best, as he gets (almost) all tight finishes right.
“It’s Frankel on the far side. Now what has he got left? There’s not a lot left or is there? Frankel is coming away or is he?”
Just my opinion but Jerry Hannon is awful, particularly at the end of the race, he sounds demented at times. And he’s got the result wrong at times. None worse than when he called the finish of a race a circuit early and so did the jockeys in the race, quite a coincidence that.
By and large commentators should never get the result of a race wrong if they’ve correctly identified the horses. If any doubt they should call a photo instead of possibly calling the result wrong, as many have done.
I can think of one commentator who has plenty of convictions on both counts of calling the wrong result and incorrectly identifying horses for many years but still gets plenty of top meetings to call.
Some racecourses must be oblivious to the quality of commentaries when employing some commentators.Agree with all that Yeats, he’s abysmal. I listen to him, and I’m bemused as to why he got the gig.
Unfortunately, some people seemed to think that his infamous Roaring Bull commentary was acceptable. It wasn’t. It was an embarrassment.
He should have got a tap on the shoulder after that, his mic taken of him, and told “this job isn’t for you mate“
Jerry is a clone of Des Scahill, waited 20 years for Des to hang up the mic and Jerry comes along.
A shame ATR don’t do the Irish anymore as I’d have recommend sending Tommo over for the gig..Blackbeard to conquer the World
I don’t think commentator jobs exist do they? They just share them around for the presenters to do a lot of the time.
Never had a problem with the Irish commentators apart from when Des Scahill was getting horses mixed up in the last year or so of his commentary career.
Another in the anti-Jerry camp here. I don’t know how he’s been for the past year because I habitually press mute once the horses enter the straight. But I used to find his commentaries excruciating which is ridiculous because his job should be to draw attention to the race rather than to himself. A good commentator is a condiment, not an attraction. Getting excited for a once in a generation battle of great significance is one thing. But screaming the finish of every race is utterly contrived and negates the impact should ever there be another Desert Orchid, Direct Route, Special Cargo type moment.
Agree with most opinion on here. Having been bemused that the permanently bored and incompetent Des Scahill managed to retain his job forever, I’ve been impressed with how Gerry Hannon has managed to plumb similar depths.
His commentaries contain many of the features of Des’s: list the runners, insert random geographical feature (‘they’re making the turn down the far side that leads to the entrance of the home straight’ etc), then list the runners again. And repeat. Fallers? Forget ’em. Favourites disappearing out the back? Ignore.
Although as VTC has mentioned, Gerry has suddenly decided to spice things up by screaming like a demented banshee for no reason at the end of each race.
Irish racing deserves an awful lot better than this amateur nonsense.
Mike
I don’t mind Derek Thompson but I readily concede he is not a good commentator. I am surprised he stays on the rota.
As for the awful Hannon, I am sure he was commentating recently and said “Well done, young man” as the winner crossed the line. That seemed biased and inappropriate. Presumably he had a few euros on.
Gary O’Brien is the “best” of the Irish commentators – although it is admittedly a very low bar. And he does not commentate that often because of his presenting duties.
Tommo is, of course, well known for never wanting to commit himself in a tight or not-so-tight finish, preferring to say “I’ll leave that to the judge.”
It’s for the very obvious reason that he doesn’t want the embarrassment of having the incriminating replay shown forever more if he gets it wrong. Understandable, of course, but hardly a vote of confidence in his race reading skills.
The other main offender over the years has been Malcolm Tomlinson, who has never knowingly stuck his neck out to call the likely winner of a tight finish, even if it was blindingly obvious to any casual observer.
I was firmly put in my place on this forum years ago when I had the temerity to express exasperation with Tomlinson for not sticking his head above the parapet in a close-run finish.
I was told that it was the judge’s job to call the result or likely result, emphatically not the commentator. Difficult to disagree obviously.
Of course, a couple of other commentators, notably former race caller Dave Smith, used to try to be too clever and it ultimately backfired on him when, while working in his other role as a racecourse judge, he got it wrong instead of calling for a photo and he lost his job. No wonder Tommo doesn’t risk it.
The reason he keeps going, of course, is that, years ago, his commentary bosses tried to get rid of him and several others, such as Darren Owen, but it went badly wrong for them and, after an outcry, they were reinstated, much to the humiliation of the bosses.
After that, Tommo and Owen became untouchable and unsackable for as long as they wanted to carry on!
Another classic from Thommo in the 2.30 at Sedgefield. Three horses came down at the first fence in the straight. After failing to identify at least one, he said “The three horses are all up. That’s the main thing. All the jockeys are still down.”
Yes, who cares about the humans Derek?
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