He comes across as a true gentleman in his interviews but I really really don't see him as a great commentator...me thinks its down to the usual rose tinted glasses certain people have when looking back to the good old days....
Sir Peter O'sullevan
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Desert Orchid
Senior Jockey
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He was peerless in his prime but started losing the plot in the early 1990s.
Colin Phillips
At the Start
:laughing: :clap:
Spoons
At the Start
Brilliant :laughing:
What was that old snooker quote "for those of you watching on black and white televisions the pink ball is just behind the black ball" or something along those lines!
What was that old snooker quote "for those of you watching on black and white televisions the pink ball is just behind the black ball" or something along those lines!
Powerscourt
At the Start
O'Sullivan covered a great time for horse racing with greats like Arkle, Nijinsky, Mill Reef, Brigadier Gerard and many more but I always liked him and his commentaries over the years.
I can't think of anyone I would rate ahead of him.
I can't think of anyone I would rate ahead of him.
rorydelargy
At the Start
Wonderful voice and, like Pat Taaffe, great in the country but he could get quite flustered at the business end and not just in his later years. His calls of big races in the sixties and seventies are littered with awkward calls, if not outright mistakes. He reverted to calling horses by their nicknames in later years (Dessie, from Barney at the open ditch etc) which was a tad embarrassing. He was, of course, a marvellous journalist and raconteur. He also has no "i"s in his name, except for the one in "Sir" 
In 84, his call of Bobsline and Noddy's Ryde finish was embarrassing. And the Sun Alliance CHase, where there was a melee at the top of the hill which he completely missed, was woeful as well. Was he past his prime then?
Granted, he must have been a breath of fresh air when he first began. Raleigh Gilbert always sounded well in those old commentaries, I thought.
Granted, he must have been a breath of fresh air when he first began. Raleigh Gilbert always sounded well in those old commentaries, I thought.
Happy Jack
On a break
He wasn't averse to making mistakes in the Grand National too - his blunders in the 1974 (totally arsed up an attempted comparision between Red Rum this time around and Crisp the previous year: "Red Rum only has to jump it, but remember he was deprived of it on the flat last year...or rather he deprived the winner of it..") and 1975 (called Spanish Steps as jumping the last alongside Red Rum, when it was of course L'Escargot) are probably the reasons why the finishes of those two renewals are often missing from historical National videos.
He is not head and shoulders above every other caller as is often stated, but his greatest calls (1977 Grand National, 1986 Gold Cup) are certainly greater than any other caller's greatest call - and that is the reason why he will always be rated the best.
He is not head and shoulders above every other caller as is often stated, but his greatest calls (1977 Grand National, 1986 Gold Cup) are certainly greater than any other caller's greatest call - and that is the reason why he will always be rated the best.
I think it's easy to underestimate how good Sir Peter was, similar to David Coleman, is preparation was meticulous. He would often be seen in weighing room prior to a race checking colours etc. I think this sort of homework is sadly lacking in many of the present day callers and it shows. As for Raleigh Gilbert he had a nice sounding voice but was woeful, in the GG class.
Don't forget, Sir Peter O'Sullevan had virtually to invent the art of race calling from scratch, and while he may not have had the technical accuracy of some of today's commentators, his infectious enthusiasm and love of the sport (and the horse) more than made up for that.
Finally...
...please could a moderator correct the spelling of the great man's name in the thread title?!
Finally...
...please could a moderator correct the spelling of the great man's name in the thread title?!
God he'd go absolutely mad if he ever saw that mis-spelling :laughing:
Race-calling was much more difficult in those days, you didn't have several cameras and colour monitors etc etc. Sir P's preparation was incredible - I've had the honour [and the pleasure] of working with him in the course of which he's shown me some of the materials he prepared for the big races. They were usually big boards he made up himself, with all the runners in order, details of weight, best distances etc and he would draw and crayon in each set of colours - race cards didn't have colour then - and he'd make little notes beside each horse of noteworthy things to say about them. He's kept every one of them.
Some of the boobs he made were just down to the difficulties of the era, and a few at the business end were down to pure excitement [esp when he had lots of dosh on I expect!]. He was incredibly well connected of course - all the top people in racing of any era have been friends, some very close friends - so he usually knew what to back, and backed it big, with several firms.
I don't think there is anyone to touch him, myself, given the facilites he was working with in those days; and given the technical problems esp with the weather [no camera compensation in those days] he made remarkably few mistakes. Given his capacity to down pink champagne and the endless lunches he must have been given, it's amazing he was usually so fluent
Race-calling was much more difficult in those days, you didn't have several cameras and colour monitors etc etc. Sir P's preparation was incredible - I've had the honour [and the pleasure] of working with him in the course of which he's shown me some of the materials he prepared for the big races. They were usually big boards he made up himself, with all the runners in order, details of weight, best distances etc and he would draw and crayon in each set of colours - race cards didn't have colour then - and he'd make little notes beside each horse of noteworthy things to say about them. He's kept every one of them.
Some of the boobs he made were just down to the difficulties of the era, and a few at the business end were down to pure excitement [esp when he had lots of dosh on I expect!]. He was incredibly well connected of course - all the top people in racing of any era have been friends, some very close friends - so he usually knew what to back, and backed it big, with several firms.
I don't think there is anyone to touch him, myself, given the facilites he was working with in those days; and given the technical problems esp with the weather [no camera compensation in those days] he made remarkably few mistakes. Given his capacity to down pink champagne and the endless lunches he must have been given, it's amazing he was usually so fluent
uncle goober
At the Start
- Joined
- Oct 10, 2005
- Messages
- 1,277
The fact is most commentators make mistakes.
Most commentators annoy alot of people with either their mistakes, their whiney accent, their shouty over excitedness, their grating drone, their lack of drama in a great finish, their pre-rehearsed comments forced into the commentaries, their total misjudgement of when not to joke about a horse name, or when not to say 'tear up your tickets ' or ' go and collect'
SPO'S did none of those.
I first met him when I was five. Join me after the break for that , and other stories.
Most commentators annoy alot of people with either their mistakes, their whiney accent, their shouty over excitedness, their grating drone, their lack of drama in a great finish, their pre-rehearsed comments forced into the commentaries, their total misjudgement of when not to joke about a horse name, or when not to say 'tear up your tickets ' or ' go and collect'
SPO'S did none of those.
I first met him when I was five. Join me after the break for that , and other stories.
K
Kathy
Guest
Break over, I'm all ears!
Brown Jack
At the Start
I cannot say anything bad about him, He is such a gent and was so fabulous in his day that listening still gives me a thrill. My other half still cries when she listens to half of his commentaries, especially Arkle, and Dawn Run, the bit about the mare getting up. His voice is very moving without being over dramatic or fake.
He has done so much for horse welfare too, a man half his age would have died by now from all the charity work he does.
In life, even in racing ( ) there must be some people who have proven themsleves enough and owe us nothing more, surely?
We have met him a few times when he has been signing books as we do volunteer work for some charities he helps out. He is always very laid back, and you can see he takes delight in little things, like children who ask for his autograph, people who stop to swop racing stories, and pretty girls who walk by!
He has done so much for horse welfare too, a man half his age would have died by now from all the charity work he does.
In life, even in racing (
) there must be some people who have proven themsleves enough and owe us nothing more, surely? We have met him a few times when he has been signing books as we do volunteer work for some charities he helps out. He is always very laid back, and you can see he takes delight in little things, like children who ask for his autograph, people who stop to swop racing stories, and pretty girls who walk by!