‘Voice Of Racing’ is no more
THE man behind horseracing’s most famous voice, Sir Peter O’Sullevan, died on July 29 at the age of 97. The famous commentator was aptly named the “Voice Of Racing” and his unique, dulcet tones became associated with all of Britain’s and some of Europe’s top races.
The Grand National, of which he called home 38 winners for BBC television, lost a little of its grandeur after O'Sullevan's retirement at the age of 79 in 1997.
The Guardian paid tribute to O’Sullevan last week and described his life and career.
He was brought up by his maternal grandparents in the Surrey countryside after the separation of his parents in the 1920s. An only child, he was always content with his own company, and that of his pony, Fairy. He remained essentially a loner for most of his life, preferring to work, travel and eat on his own when away from home. Educated at Charterhouse in Surrey and a boarding school in Switzerland, O’Sullevan suffered in his youth from poor health and in late adolescence from a disfiguring facial skin ailment.
His health issues led to him being turned down for military service and he spent much of the second world war serving in the Chelsea Civil Defence rescue service.
Even during wartime, betting on such horse racing as there was occupied much of his time, and in December 1944 he applied for a job as a racing sub-editor at the Press Association news agency. After the war he was employed as an "outside" man responsible for race descriptions. It was during this period that he encountered Peter Dimmock, a former RAF pilot, who after demob was briefly employed by the PA before moving on to BBC TV's outside broadcast department.
Dimmock’s bustling self-confidence rapidly earned him a role both as producer and race commentator for the BBC. He employed O’Sullevan as a much-needed race-reader and the latter's skill in this role earned him a broadcasting trial at Cheltenham in autumn 1947. His first “live’’ commentary followed two months later. The following year he commentated on his first Grand National, covering the first fence for BBC Radio. When Dimmock, who became head of BBC outside broadcasts in 1954, finally persuaded Aintree’s owner, Mirabel Topham, to allow television coverage in 1960, O’Sullevan led the commentary team, and called home the next 38 Grand National winners.
In 1950, O'Sullevan left the Press Association to become racing correspondent of the Daily Express. Thus began the legendary partnership with the Old Etonian Clive Graham, which had developed its roots in television, with Graham acting as O’Sullevan's race-reader. Graham was to become BBC TV's paddock commentator in a partnership that lasted for 25 years until his death in 1974.
O’Sullevan soon earned a reputation for unearthing “dark horses’’ in his pre-season tours of French stables. His fluent grasp of French gave him a head start over his journalistic rivals and enabled him to land some substantial ante-post betting coups on the frequent French winners of top British races.
His successful betting enabled him to own several racehorses during this period, but the first dozen failed to win a single race.
However, In October 1965 he bought a yearling for 2,800 guineas at the Newmarket October sales, and after naming him Be Friendly the colt went on to win 12 races and become Champion Sprinter of Europe. He ended his career with a stallion valuation of £88,000.
O'Sullevan earned widespread plaudits for his controlled television commentary on Be Friendly’s big successes and was also behind the microphone when his other successful racehorse, Attivo, won the Chester Cup and Triumph Hurdle. As a journalist he enjoyed the confidence of leading personalities in racing, notably Lester Piggott. He was entrusted with betting commissions by several top trainers, in particular his friends in Ireland and France.
By the late 1960s, O’Sullevan was at the height of his journalistic and broadcasting fame and in 1968 he was approached by ITV to “change sides’’.
Dimmock knew the value of O'Sullevan's popularity, however, and went to extreme lengths to hold on to his prize asset. Despite O’Sullevan’s frequent criticisms of the BBC, both privately and in print, neither Dimmock nor any of his successors chose to risk earning the label of “the man who lost O’Sullevan’’.
O’Sullevan exploited his untouchable status with considerable skill financially, as he did when approached by the Daily Mail in 1973. His temporary resignation from the Express, and reinstatement, led to a salary rise from £5,500 to £9,000 pa. When he finally left the Daily Express in 1985 it was in an atmosphere of acrimony. No love had been lost between him and the newspaper's sports editor, who had hoped that O'Sullevan would retire three years earlier at 65.
In truth, while O’Sullevan was much admired by fellow journalists, until recent years he had few close friends. As a broadcaster he was considered difficult to work with and rarely, if ever, socialised with colleagues.
As his career in journalism drew to an end, O’Sullevan threw himself into charitable work. In 1983 he embarked on fundraising for the International League for the Protection of Horses. Other charities to receive his support were the Brooke Hospital for Animals, the Thoroughbred Rehabilitation Centre, and several other horse-related charities. In 1999 he established the Sir Peter O’Sullevan Charitable Trust, which raised more than £3m for six animal-related charities.In 1986 he was elected a member of the Jockey Club, which gave him an official platform from which to voice his antagonism towards excessive and improper use of the whip.
O’Sullevan was married in 1951 to the former model Pat Duckworth. She died in 2010. His personal life remained very private, and his wife's dislike of flying meant that he spent many holidays on his own. Travel, fine wine and haute cuisine remained his favourite pleasures.
He was appointed OBE in 1977 for his services to broadcasting and CBE in 1991 for his charity work. In 1997, the year of his retirement from broadcasting, he received a knighthood.
The Guardian