Sir Peter O’Sullevan, who passed away yesterday at the age of 97, defined the sport of horse racing for 50 years.
He was the man who inspired my love of the sport and my passion for journalism. I was honoured to have known him over a period of nearly 20 years and my memories are of the exact gentleman who always came across to the wider public.
We first met in the early 1990’s at a hotel in London where the weights were published for that year’s Grand National. It was a lunchtime affair and as we gathered in the ballroom a quick scan of the table plan revealed that I, as a young former radio commentator then working in the Ladbrokes press office was seated beside him.
I was more nervous then that at any point in my working life. He was a hero. His commentary on Dawn Run winning the Gold Cup in 1986 had prompted me to vow that sports journalism was to be my role in a working life and now I was to meet him.
We were introduced by his close friend and my boss at the time Mike Dillon and within seconds it was as if we had been friends forever.
He was intrigued that my Grandfather had ridden the winner of the Galway Hurdle and he knew personally the characters that had framed my childhood summers. What’s more he had stories, great stories, delivered in ‘that voice’ and told with loving attention to detail.
Over many subsequent lunches, always with a fine bottle of wine, some at his Chelsea base in the company of his wife Pat, I felt as though a hero had become a friend. There’s not much more you can ask for.
He shared his knowledge without any demand for credit. He was humble about the profound impact he had on the sport he loved and the way it was perceived.
He would perhaps occasionally ask, always politely, for a little over the odds on a horse he might have a liking for. They would win more often than not.
Those days were different to today’s wall to wall coverage of live sport. Then it was only the biggest events that would be beamed into our homes and those who painted the picture and explained what we were seeing held a very special place.
Harry Carpenter, Bill McLaren, Micheál O’Hehir and Micheál O Muircheartaigh were the soundtrack to our growing up in sport. They bring back deep connections we have to our own childhood, our own family story, the life that shaped who we are today.
Sir Peter had a rich and varied life. As I write this his autobiography sits on my desk, waiting now to be read again in light of his passing.
I was honoured to know him. His passing makes the world a poorer place but the memories he leaves behind will last forever.
Here is a link to a wonderful BBC Radio tribute broadcast last night for those with the time to listen…
And here is his commentary on Dawn Run which will forever be indelibly printed on my memory of a life in sport…
