What was your earliest racing memory and was working in the sport something you always wanted to do?

My first racing memory was Arkle winning the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 1964. I remember my father was driving around and we stopped off at someone’s house to watch it.

You originally went into the army. What was that like and how do you think it has helped you in sports broadcasting?

I went into the Grenadier Guards and I served in Northern Ireland. When I was stationed in Germany I listened to British Forces Broadcasting and I thought I might quite like to do that.

When I left the army I was given a resettlement course with British Forces Broadcasting in Cologne. This was in April 1982, around the time that the Falklands War broke out. As a trainee, I ended up having to do reports on behalf of the station.

It was a very different media landscape as you did not get the information here and now. The reports you were putting out would probably have been the news from four days ago because that is how long it took for the news to get back as to what was going on. That’s how my broadcasting career started.

Was there anybody in racing or in broadcasting who influenced you throughout your career?

I admired the late Max Robertson who covered Wimbledon for 40 years. His commentaries would seem very old-fashioned now but I was fascinated by how he engaged listeners and kept it going. He also presented a programme called Going for a Song. I’ve been covering Wimbledon since 1994.

Your brother Michael has trained many big race winners, notably Motivator in the Derby, Sariska in the Oaks and Big Orange in the Gold Cup. What was it like for you to commentate or report on those races?

When Motivator won I was at The Heritage Golf Club in Killenard covering the Irish Seniors Open! Although I do remember the party in Ireland that night because Motivator went into the race as a red-hot favourite so a lot of people at the golf had backed him. I did not pay for a drink that night!

I also missed Sariska’s Oaks as I was covering show jumping in Switzerland, so when I was present for Big Orange’s Gold Cup I was over the moon.

It’s amazing to think my brother trained the Derby winner when you consider how rare British-trained winners of the Derby are these days. The fact that Michael was able to get the chance - and that he is still going - is impressive.

Sariska was really good the year she won the Epsom-Curragh Oaks double. She was quirky so it was an amazing achievement by Michael.

Big Orange was quite a popular horse and when he won I think it saved my career. The commentary went viral. Bizarrely, I received an award at the Horse Racing Writers Lunch that year for “the most biased commentary”!

Has having a trainer as a brother given you a different perspective on the sport than most broadcasters have, like say an inside view of the training side that others don’t get?

It is a thrill to have seen my little brother Michael do so well. My father loved hunting hounds and he was a racecourse steward so we were around horses and we went racing. I never rode or sat on a horse, much to my parents’ disappointment. Michael has been training since the late 1980s. He started with a good horse owned by my father called Pass The Peace. She was trained by Paul Cole to win the 1986 Cheveley Park Stakes and then Michael trained her to win the 1987 Fred Darling, his first winner. From there his career went on an upward trajectory.

What were your most memorable days working as a broadcaster in racing?

Obviously Big Orange has been the main highlight and the other was Rachael Blackmore winning the Grand National on Minella Times in 2021. I was co-commentating on talkSport with [former jockey] Lizzie Kelly and Lizzie’s reaction helped get us nominated for Radio Moment of the Year. Lizzie has been my sidekick since her retirement from race-riding.

Do you have a favourite memory or recollection of going racing in Ireland?

I had a horse named Fair Titania, trained by my brother. She ran in a sales race at Leopardstown in 1990 as a three-year-old. It was also a handicap and we had been clobbered with top weight so we had an apprentice jockey on board. She was a good horse and with a furlong to go I had pound signs turning in my head. She finished fourth so we did not go away empty-handed but we were so close to a big payday.

At talkSport you work alongside the former footballer turned broadcaster Alan Brazil. What’s he like and have you had any memorable moments working with Alan?

Alan, this year had a very serious operation. It is great to hear him back on the radio and sounding really boyish and enthusiastic still. It is lovely to be able to talk to him on air.

In 2008 a day of the Cheltenham Festival was cancelled due to high winds. It was blowing a howling gale at 40mph. I was walking down the straight and Alan was up in the Coral box, sheltered from the winds, and interviewing me about the conditions.

Alan said: “There is nothing wrong with the wind there, it is absolutely fine”, to which I replied, “Actually, it is the tents. There is a risk that the hospitality village will be blown away - it’s a health and safety issue.” Alan would not have it.

As well as racing, you work at many of the big golf and tennis tournaments. What are they like to work on and how much preparation goes in before working on those events?

I have loved every minute of working at Wimbledon. I have seen some amazing matches - Andy Murray winning the title and then seeing those epic Federer-Nadal matches. The one which finished late into the night (2008) was one of the great sporting moments and a privilege to be at.

I have been to three ‘away’ victories for Europe at the Ryder Cup, starting at Detroit in 2004, I was at the ‘Miracle of Medinah’ in 2012 which was an incredible event and obviously Bethpage last year. I have been deeply privileged in my role covering Ryder Cups and seeing Tiger Woods in his pomp and being inside the ropes to watch that.

Of the sports you cover, is there one you find more challenging to broadcast than the others?

Tennis has its own challenges because the matches can be long. If you are out on the golf course it is described in broadcasting as a ‘shot go’ and you have got to be in the right position. I love being out on the course and to be inside the ropes at a Ryder Cup. It is just magnificent, so from that point of view, I feel lucky.

If there was something in racing you could change what would it be?

For the stakeholders to bang their heads together and make things work because it is a tough time. I think it is the same in Ireland with the gambling legislation having an impact. What we have to do is get into the nitty gritty of it and say ‘where do we see racing in 10 years’ time?’. It is tough to own a racehorse. There is too much racing. We have 50-plus racecourses and you wonder can they justify their existence?

What have you thought of the current flat season so far?

I have thoroughly enjoyed it. I have gone to the big meetings - I don’t go to many others - and I thought the Bow Echo-Gstaad clashes were memorable. The Gold Cup was fantastic and I am glad they called time on Trawlerman’s career because he owes them nothing. Racing seems to be attracting a younger crowd, I have noticed. It’s a great day out and I think the vibe of spending a day at the races does seem to be resonating as a relaxed way to spend time with friends.

Looking ahead, is there a race, event, or achievement still on your broadcasting bucket list?

I have raced lots in America including the Kentucky Derby and done plenty of Melbourne Cups but I have never done the Arc at Longchamp and I need to tick that off.