Commentator Jim McGrath

punchestown

'Croc' is indeed the right nickname for Aussie Jim. Crock of **** are his commentaries these days. He has been in decline for the last number of years now but today at Kelso is taking the biscuit. He missed completely Flight Leader demolishing the 4th fence, a mistake which saw his price shoot from 1/2 to 3's in running, then calls the wrong horse in the next. He seems to be in terminal decline and its a measure of how the BBC treat the sport that he continues as number 1 commentator with them.

For my money, I think Richard Hoiles is an excellent commentator/race reader and a gent to boot. We need more of Hoiles and less of Jim!

Morgans

Agree. McGrath is awful and has been for a decade. Its lucky that he only gets to commentate on about 6 fences of the national. Clueless and senile.

Shan75

Agree.I can't stand listening to him any more.I also agree about Hoiles.BBC should try and get him as then both BBC and C4 would have excellent No 1 commentators in Hoiles and Simon Holt.C4 should also get rid of Graham Goode as he is a pompous old windbag.He is always trying to forecast what will happen during a race instead of just commentating on it and he invariably is incorrect in his crystal ball gazing.

punchestown

I suppose its like most jobs. When your in your infancy, you work hard keen to establish yourself. You strive until you reach the top of your profession. Complacency sets in though and its not long before standards slip. Goode is on the way out but McGrath is still considered the number 1 by the BBC. I get the impression particularly with McGrath, that he turns up at the races 2 hours before hand, heads straight to hospitality, has a few beers with a nice meal and then proceeds to the commentary box. He has done no prep work in terms of colours, make up of race, betting patterns etc. and just calls the horses home with a few trademark cliches thrown in and a few notable events in the actual race left out!

mike65

There was racing on the beeb today? I was keeping an eye on ATR.

Mike.

punchestown

No, he was commentating at Kelso for ATR. I think he campaigned last year for the BBC to release him from his contract on days when they were not showing racing (about 360!) and they relented hence he now pops up on atr quite a bit.

Shan75

One thing he really enjoys saying is "they are heading down the back" or "they are leaving the back" or some other variable of this.This is meaningless as he does not say the back of what.Why can't he just say something like "they are on the back straight" or "they are entering the home straight" which doesn't sound as idiotic.He also cannot see a horse making a move and will suddenly exclaim such and such has come from nowhere instead of tracking his movements as the really good commentators can do.In my opinion he also cannot judge which horses are travelling well.I have often heard him say a horse is being ridden along when everybody else can see he is hard on the bridle(Ok slight exaggeration but you get the idea).He also made a bit of a fool of himself at Royal Ascot last year getting over-excited about one of the Aussie horses(Takeover Target) which he proclaimed would not be beaten 50 yards from the line only to see Soldier's Tale mow him down.Everybody else knew Soldiers Tale was going to get there at least 100 yards out. It's a bit of a worry that he has popped up on ATR although I think he does more summertime presenting than commentating.However, bad as he is, he is still 1000 times better than the clown Derek Thompson.

punchestown

Ho ho ho, tommo and mcgrath. dats a photooooooo!

BobbyD10

I think Derek Thompson is shocking...!

I prefer Mike Cattermole tbh..! (Simon Holt is good also).

Shan75

My little analysis of some of the commentators around at the moment.Happy reading for anybody with as much time on their hands as I obviously have!

Simon Holt--My favourite for quite a few years.Almost always delivers a flawless commentary with some memorable exclamations such as "Geraghty looks around almost nonchalantly" when Moscow Flyer was on his way to Tingle Creek victory.Makes an exciting finish even better as he oozes enthusiasm.

Richard Hoiles---Similar I think to Holt with his unflustered style and knowledge of what's actually happening.Can add a bit of excitement too at the right time but just not quite as good as Holt.

John Hunt---Delivers his commentary with no fuss.Does not try to steal the limelight like some lesser commentators by trying to be a know all.Definitely one to stay.

Simon Mapletoft(Possibly slightly wrong spelling)---Fairly new to the game and would be similar to Hunt.

Dessie Scahill---No frills.Some may say a bit boring and regimental and maybe he is but a class caller of the closing stages of close races.

Ian Bartlett---Again no frills but gets the job done in a consumate manner.

Mike Cattermole---Not bad but has made a few howlers recently.I suspect he is a better presenter than commentator and should probably concentrate on this as he has a likeable manner.

Graham Goode---Discussed earlier.Pompous old windbag and needs to retire.

Jim McGrath----Already said enough about this once decent commentator.Again he urgently needs to retire.

Mark Johnson---An absolute pain in the ass.The ultimate arrogant b*stard who believes we are all gaining something valuable by being privileged to hear his wonderful and insightful commentary.Even if his commentary in reality was above average I would still hate to have to listen to him.He seems to be a younger and worse version of Goode.

Derek Thompson---In a league of his own which I am sure would delight him.I have never, thankfully, come across another person in any walk of life more incompetent than this guy.He cannot commentate,present or interview.He is the most obviously fake human being I have ever encountered.I feel physically sick at the sight of him tormenting the jockeys,trainers and general public with his ridiculously stupid questions and comments and his infantile behaviour.I never enjoyed a moment better than when Ruby made him look and feel like the complete idiot he is after the Gold Cup at Cheltenham.I honestly think Highflyer Productions,Channel 4 and ATR must be getting some kind of government grant to employ this guy.

punchestown

An excellent round up of the good, bad and indifferent that currently commentate on horse racing. Couldnt agree more about Mark Johnson. The top two in your summary would be the pair I rate the highest.