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Channel 4 Racing brought the curtain down on 32 years of terrestrial TV coverage with its final broadcast from the Welsh Grand National at Chepstow and the second day of Kempton Park’s Christmas meeting on Tuesday.
With rival company ITV set to offer free-to-air racing coverage from New Year’s Day, the Channel 4 team reflected on its decades covering racing with a poignant montage featuring some of the greatest names to have graced the sport, both equine and human. Introduced by lead presenter Nick Luck, who said, “The real stars are the horses, men and women who have made it all so special”, the footage ended, fittingly, with a clip of Frankel (GB) (Galileo {Ire}) blasting his way to victory in the G1 QIPCO 2000 Guineas of 2011.
The final programme also included a telephone interview with jockey Freddy Tylicki, who was paralysed in a race fall at Kempton on Oct. 31. The 30-year-old, who left St. George’s Hospital in Tooting last week to continue his rehabilitation in the London Spinal Cord Injury Centre at Stanmore, was allowed to spend Christmas Day at home with his mother Irene and sister Madeleine.
In his interview with Luck, he said, “I was absolutely delighted to be home––it was only for the day––but it was obviously a step in the right direction. There are a lot of things on my plate right now but the main thing is to stay positive. I left hospital a week ago and I’m now in Stanmore and it’s one of the best spinal clinics in the country so I’m looking forward to spending my time here.”
Tylicki, who rode Speedy Boarding (GB) (Shamardal) to win the G1 Darley Prix Jean Romanet and G1 Prix de l’Opera Longines earlier this year, added, “The support I’m getting from everyone in racing is absolutely unbelievably. I don’t really know how to thank everyone. It’s been tremendous. There’s a lot of money being raised for me and it will all be very helpful. A lot of friends are coming to visit me and that’s given me a lot of help in staying positive. I appreciate it very much.”
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With rival company ITV set to offer free-to-air racing coverage from New Year’s Day, the Channel 4 team reflected on its decades covering racing with a poignant montage featuring some of the greatest names to have graced the sport, both equine and human. Introduced by lead presenter Nick Luck, who said, “The real stars are the horses, men and women who have made it all so special”, the footage ended, fittingly, with a clip of Frankel (GB) (Galileo {Ire}) blasting his way to victory in the G1 QIPCO 2000 Guineas of 2011.
The final programme also included a telephone interview with jockey Freddy Tylicki, who was paralysed in a race fall at Kempton on Oct. 31. The 30-year-old, who left St. George’s Hospital in Tooting last week to continue his rehabilitation in the London Spinal Cord Injury Centre at Stanmore, was allowed to spend Christmas Day at home with his mother Irene and sister Madeleine.
In his interview with Luck, he said, “I was absolutely delighted to be home––it was only for the day––but it was obviously a step in the right direction. There are a lot of things on my plate right now but the main thing is to stay positive. I left hospital a week ago and I’m now in Stanmore and it’s one of the best spinal clinics in the country so I’m looking forward to spending my time here.”
Tylicki, who rode Speedy Boarding (GB) (Shamardal) to win the G1 Darley Prix Jean Romanet and G1 Prix de l’Opera Longines earlier this year, added, “The support I’m getting from everyone in racing is absolutely unbelievably. I don’t really know how to thank everyone. It’s been tremendous. There’s a lot of money being raised for me and it will all be very helpful. A lot of friends are coming to visit me and that’s given me a lot of help in staying positive. I appreciate it very much.”
Continue reading...