Richard Hoiles: Governor fancied to boss rivals from the front at Brighton

Whenever you said you worked in racing the first thing anyone would ask was whether you knew ‘the hairy bloke who shouted and waved his arms about’.

John McCririck was, for a whole generatio,n the face of racing. Before the days of satellite TV channels, sport on television was scarce and for many their only opportunity to get a weekly racing fix was the ITV 7 and then Channel 4 Racing.

For me it was Peter West presenting the John Player League cricket on a Saturday afternoon, Harry Carpenter on Sportsnight or Eddie Waring’s ‘Up and Under’ which all remain inextricably linked to my earliest sporting memories.

Whilst many would see John as an arm waving buffoon, and in his later forays into reality television as boorish and politically incorrect, the reality of the man was so very different.

Mac was meticulous in his research. His hand-written race histories, his voracious devouring of newspapers ensured that he was not an inflated windbag easily popped with a telling barb or counter argument.

If you were enticed into a battle of words with John you had better know your subject inside and out and preferably back to front as well. Big Mac had a fine understanding of what his audience wanted, and that was to be thought provoking not anodyne.

The catalyst for many a lively exchange of views TV for him was black or white not endless shades of grey.

His home turf, the betting ring, was still at that time a shady mystical place, with many still remembering the days of ‘illegals’ and ‘bookies runners’.

By tapping into the colour, championing the punter, yet at the same time bringing out the skills within the ring of their nemesis the bookmakers he brought the daily battle between the two sides to life. The use of tic tac and betting slang only added to the mystique and character of what he referred to as ‘the betting jungle’.

Where his brilliance really shone was in the weekly paper review on the Morning Line. Here he segued seamlessly between sport and politics, interlinking serious pieces with racing stories and tips crowned by a ‘funny’ pay-off. It was all beautifully choreographed and Simon Holt and I would always be the recipients of any articles on commentating he had caught during his trawl through the week’s news.

For a man so much larger than life, the illness which claimed him may have cruelly diminished him physically but thankfully that razor sharp mind was with him to the end. Loud, outspoken and brash, encouraging, loyal and shy. The many faces of the one recognised by millions.

Big Mac used to implore viewers to ‘Come Racing’ and those that did at Sandown cheered Enable’s triumphant return in the Coral-Eclipse to the rafters. She just operates on a different level and so it was such a shame that the mouth watering prospect of a rematch with Sea of Class was so swiftly dashed after the latter’s bad bout of colic left her so ill that her survival for the breeding sheds rather than a return to the racecourse is the best outcome. Fingers firmly crossed she pulls through.

The selections for Tuesday start with:

3.00 Wolverhampton – Aquadabra (at 8-1 with Paddy Power/Betfair Sportsbook)

Travels strongly for one rated so lowly and even though has stall 10 to cope with went comfortably for a long way in a big field in a race I called at Chepstow last time. Dropped back in trip he is worth one more chance with his small yard in good heart.

4.00 Wolverhampton – Corrida De Toros (at 5-1 with Bet365)

Was well backed on his handicap debut in what looked a stronger race last time and he looks to have started out off a fair mark. He didn’t see the race out last start and drops back a furlong here.

6.10 Brighton – Governor Of Punjab (at 5-2 with William Hill)

Looked a typical Mark Johnston juvenile last start, finding plenty under pressure to wrest back the lead in the closing stages. Hopefully he can show enough dash to lead on the rail and if so is likely to prove very hard to pass.

8.20 Uttoxeter – Oscar Maguire (at 11-2 with Bet365)

Olly Murphy’s charge was let down by his jumping at a crucial stage last time and if he can avoid those errors at the business end this time around, can make the most of his lowly mark still looking unexposed over this trip.