Racing: Wilson helped Lee's career

Wayne Wilson calling one his several races. Photo / News Ltd

It was when you had an inkling Tony Lee would make it as a race caller.

Go back to the 1980s when Lee was auctioneering cabbages at the Auckland markets.

Race calling was his life's dream and he took the opportunity to accompany this writer on a promotional tour of Queensland and Sydney for our breeding industry.

We arrived in Brisbane and I contacted racecaller Wayne Wilson for a lift to a midweek Ipswich race meeting Wilson was calling at.

During the trip and later over a cup of coffee with the Ipswich chairman before the first race, it was decided this fledgling Kiwi racecaller should get behind the microphone for the fourth race.

Lee had been recovering from a mystery virus, the effects of which were not assisted when Race 4 - a 1000m dash - jumped.

The only vision to assure you the event had started was a moving cloud of dust.

Not a horse could be seen.

Add that to the extreme nervousness and ill health and behind that microphone was not where you wanted to be.

Mercifully it doesn't take Queensland sprinters long to run 1000m.

Wayne Wilson was his gracious self - "Well done Tony," was the response.

And we're focusing here on someone who really knew what he was about in that area. He called Queensland races for just short of 30 years.

Wilson died last week aged 66 and his courageous fight against 15 years of chronic cancer problems will be remembered as much as his racecalling with the most iconic voice Queensland racing has known.

Along with his kindness to those who sought to learn from him.

You'd love a horse with Wilson's determination. He was diagnosed with terminal cancer in 1999 and said: "Nah".

He refused to accept the worst. "Every new medical discovery is going to keep me ahead of this," he'd say.

Remarkably it did. He had cancer of just about everything and technology kept him alive to the point cancer sufferers around Australian sought his inspiration and support.

In July last year he had his spleen and pancreas removed and in January underwent brain surgery.

Unmoved, he said: "They gave me a big shot of radiation to my brain.

"Now I know what a king hit from Mohammad Ali feels like. I didn't get out of bed for five days."

Remarkably, he kept working on media interviews until two weeks before his death, which appropriately came on the eve last week of the race he revered - the Stradbroke. He'd have been impressed.

He loved recalling Rough Habit's stunning victory in the Straddie, just as we love repeating his great call of the race.

Wayne Wilson had the most distinctive voice of any racecaller.

We're going to miss him.

Just as we miss Tony Lee.