Racing: Thank goodness for Tony Lee

Tony Lee

No, it's not the greatest spectacle in the world watching the Wellington Cup field go around in foreign colours.

It's a nonsense, but I guess we have to get used to it.

For the second year running this afternoon we are going to see each runner discard their owners' colours for something off a paint colour chart for the $250,000 Dulux Colour Map Wellington Cup.

It essentially means only one person, racecaller Tony Lee, will know what the hell is going on as the 3200m field thunder past the 1400m.

Most regular racegoers can follow, if not most of the field during a race, then certainly where their own horse is and probably where the main dangers are sitting.

In last year's initial running of the Pyjama Cup, professional race watchers had no clue as to the action.

The winner was the race sponsor.

You can't imagine, can you, Mr Brown from Khandallah, with his last $50 on Envoy at Trentham this afternoon turning to his wife/girlfriend at the 200m when horses and riders are stretching magically for group one glory and saying: "Oh look love, there's Envoy, not in his usual blue colours, but in that lovely strong yellow. I think we might paint our house that colour."

In fact, if more than one person has painted their house because of watching last year's Wellington Cup, then whoever came up with the promotional idea should be shouted a trip on the next space shuttle.

Where the paint company won was with the publicity created by the controversy last year.

Because Tony Lee made an exemplary job against all odds and, it has to be said, predictions, that controversy is no longer.

It has settled down to disgruntlement, which will fire up again as the 18 horses walk into the barriers at 4.20pm today and will die just as quickly with the next race or next beer, whichever arrives first.

There is no denying it's a hindrance and we will be relying heavily on Lee for what will amount to a radio commentary on television.

He told the Herald yesterday he's going into this Wellington Cup a whole lot more relaxed than was the case last year.

It's not something this column would have mentioned, but Lee asked for it to be included. Last year his trepidation arose not from the foreign colours but because he called the 2004 Wellington Cup winner Cluden Creek by the wrong name.

"That was a major issue. I did 25 interviews before last year's race and the Cluden Creek bit was a major player in all of them.

"That put a lot more onto last year's Cup."

Lee has to tread that knife edge between getting the new colours tied up to the horses without getting too intense.

"Racecallers by nature come from an intuitive level. Become pedantic and you lose it.

"I place a bit of insurance around myself in making sure I know a physical characteristic around each horse like a coloured set of blinkers, a specific chestnut colour, a white bridle"

You and I probably didn't notice, but not included in last year's call and almost certainly absent from today's, were the little touches, their absence allowing Lee that fraction of a second to tie the horse's physical difference to the colours.

"I always like to describe how a horse is travelling, or whether a horse is in a different spot in the field than usual.

"Last year I was conscious of just naming the horses."

Lee's tip for the race is Envoy.

He believes the Matamata stayer deserves to win and hopes he will be calling his blue, sorry, strong yellow, colours over the line in front.