I'd actually prefer Thommo to Robert Cooper any day, too, Gearoid. Thommo was at Brighton and worked the crowd a treat - boundless energy and positively glows with enthusiasm while he's whirling around chatting to the public. Yes, I know all the guff about his hopeless tipping line, his over-priced after-dinner speaking, his pay bar for his wedding... but if there's anyone of a similar age in racing who actually runs round (literally) trying very hard to make the attendees feel they're valued for being oncourse, I'd like to know. Not one of the stand-offish, over-earnest, sour-faced, Racespeaking RUK lot (bar Nick Luck, who does use smile muscles occasionally).
Cooper - in or out of the studio - bumbles and waffles dreadfully, looks as if he's a contestant on 'What's My Line?' where he's no idea what a bottom-knocker's job is, but will try to wing it anyway. Just embarrassing to watch or hear too many times to be funny now. And his "interviews"! "Well, she did that nicely, she does well at this distance" - how anodyne can one get? To be followed by the trainer's mild correction of "Yes, we're quite pleased with him, although it's been the first time we've tried 10f, so he surprised us a bit." I've seen him poring through the RP cards before racing, but what on earth he's actually learning from them, God knows. Certainly nothing that makes sense when he opens his mouth.
