Peter O'Sullevan
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Peter O'Sullevan (born in Ireland on 2 March 1918) was a BBC horse racing commentator (1947-1997) and racing correspondent for the Press Association, Daily Express and Today. He is one of the most respected people in horse-racing and broadcasting, and counts the likes of Lester Piggott, Vincent O'Brien and JP McManus as his friends. He is also close to a number of French racing people including trainer Francois Doumen and owner Marquesa De Moratalla.
On television, he was the voice who guided viewers through the biggest events of the racing year - from the Cheltenham Festival (until 1994), to the Grand National and the Epsom Derby (until 1979), Royal Ascot and Glorious Goodwood. During his career, he was called about 30 renewals of the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe and racing from America, Ireland as well as trotting from Rome during the 1960s.
He was known as the 'voice of racing'. In a television interview before his fiftieth and last Grand National in 1997 he revealed that his commentary binoculars came from a German submarine. He was knighted the same year - the only sports broadcaster to have been bestowed that honour by the Queen.
O'Sullevan was and continues to be a successful racehorse owner, including Be Friendly who won the King's Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot and Prix de l'Abbaye de Longchamp, and was twice successful in the Haydock Sprint Cup in 1966 and 1967 (and would have won the 1968 renewal had the meeting not been abandoned due to waterlogging).
Another popular horse he owned was Attivo, whose victory in the 1974 Triumph Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival was described by O'Sullevan as the most difficult race to call. After passing the line, O'Sullevan uttered “And it’s first Attivo . . . trained by Cyril Mitchell . . . ridden by Robert Hughes . . . owned by Peter O’Sullevan . . .” in his typically understated fashion. Attivo also won the Chester Cup and the Northumberland Plate during the late 1970s.
O'Sullevan's final race commentary came at Newbury Racecourse for the 1997 Hennessy Cognac Gold Cup, and he visited the winners' enclosure as a winning-owner in the race which followed courtesy of Sounds Fyne's victory in the Fulke Walwyn Chase. He was succeded by Jim McGrath.
Since his retirement, O'Sullevan has been actively involved in charity work fund-raising for causes which revolve around the protection of horses, including the ILPH, International League for the Protection of Horses.
