COLUMN:
ICON
Thethe
rare and thoroughbred
By
Tony Mariadass
Walter Vijay’s occupation makes him a unique and
rare personality which is a dying breed in the Malaysian horse racing industry.
Walter who turns 67 on January, is a race
commentator, who has been calling races for the last 29 years since 1985 and
among the only two Malaysians in the business. The other is Allan Nordin who is
based in Penang.
Veteran commentator, Christopher Lee, retired
in January 2012 and Walter was appointed chief commentator for the Selangor
Turf Club. He commentates with Nick Child, an Englishman, who will be leaving
soon too.
Another foreign commentator in the racing
scene is Australian Mark Lydemore who calls in Ipoh.
Career path
Walter choosing his career had a lot to do
with his passion for horses since young, but he could have taken a different
path had his father not prevented him from pursuing his studies overseas
despite securing places in the universities.
“I was all geared up to head overseas to
pursue my studies either in journalism or business management when my father,
who worked in the Malayan Railways, said that he could not afford it, as I had
two brothers and two sisters after me,” recalled Walter.
“My mother had retired as a teacher and my
father was the sole breadwinner. My father told me to get a job.”
Vijay revealed that he was also a dramatist
and musician.
“I also had a passion for drama and acted in
two plays – the King and I and Showboat. After that I moved into music and was
a vocalist in the local band called Venus. We had stints at hotels and
performed at functions.”
But before that Vijay started looking for a
job and met his classmate D.J. Dave from Tanjung Malim where he had done his
Form Five, who was also looking for a job and told him that there were several
job vacancies in the government sectorc and interviews were being conducted at
the Labour office in Kuala Lumpur.
“We both went for the interview and those
present for the interview were divided into three groups for jobs in three
government departments – customs, immigration and postal.
“Both Dave and I were put in the postal group
and we both got the job. I continued with my singing at night.”
Vijay said that his from his first pay of
RM180, he gave his mother RM170 and kept RM10.
Break
It was in 1984 that Walter answered an
advertisement for a race commentator.
He went for the interview in Singapore and
was shortlisted to be among the final two.
“I had to earlier present a mock commentary
which the interviewers were impressed. Then I was granted with a few others who
were shortlisted to call in an amateur race.
“And let me tell you it I two different
worlds doing a mock commentary and live. Many of the candidates were
tongue-tied. I managed to call the race and was granted a six month probation
as a trainee commentator.”
During
this time Walter received guidance from legendary Sydney race callers Ian Craig
and John Tapp.
From amateur to pro
The rest was history.
Walter called his first race in Penang in
1985 under the assistance of Jimmy Chadwick and the race was won by Uni Tex.
Jimmy Chadwick's initial advice to Walter was
“The only way you will make it as a commentator is if you are thrown into the
fire”.
After his probation Walter was appointed
trainee commentator for three years from 1985 to 1988.
In 1988 Walter was made full time commentator
for the Malaysian circuit which saw him calling races at Ipoh, Penang, Kuala
Lumpur and Singapore. Walter called in Singapore until racing was run
simultaneously with Malaysia and even called the last meeting at the old
Singapore track at Bukit Timah before Kranji opened where he was also called
upon for relief work at the new track.
In 2002 Walter attended the Asian Racing
Federation Study Program in Japan where he covered racing in Tokyo and Hokkaido
and got a first-hand view of the breeding industry in Japan. During his time in
Japan Walter was fortunate enough to see the great stallion Sunday Silence
before he passed away.
Walter has even called races in New Zealand
where he called barrier trials and witnessed Bone Crusher win the Air New
Zealand Stakes in the late 1980’s.
Walter attended the Melbourne Cup carnival in
1998 to see Jezabeel win for Chris Munce and met Greg Miles the race caller at
Flemington.
In 2000 Walter was a guest of the Del Mar
Turf Club in San Diego California where he attended the opening day with an
estimated crowd of 30,000 and met Trevor Denman the track announcer at Del Mar.
Last year he was at the Royal Ascot as an invited
guest and met legendary race caller Jim McGrah.
Sweet journey
“It has been a long road, but I enjoyed every
minute of it. I must say that what sacrifice I made for brothers and sisters
when I forgo to continue my studies overseas, I have been blessed with I do
today. I love my job,” said the father of two daughters and who is married to
journalist Melanie Proctor.
“Every race is a different race. To call
every race is a challenge No two race will have the same outcome.
“It is all about concentration, more
importantly memorising colours of the ‘jockey silks’ (colours of the owners
worn by the jockeys) and observing.”
Vijay said that one has to call a race within
72 seconds and maximum of two minutes and there is no room for error.
“A new newcomer will probably take a day to
prepare for a race call.
“After years of experience, I will take about
twenty minutes to prepare for the race.
“There are three parts to race which is the
pre-race, the race itself and the post-race.
“With two of us in callers box, we take turns
to call the race. The pre-race which includes predictions for the race involves
both us before one of take over the post-race when the horses parade at the
paddock before they go to the gates for the race before starters up is called.
“Each race day, among us we do anything
between eight to ten races.”
It is full week’s job which includes going
for track work in the early hours of the morning the days leading to the race,
having to be in office after that to compile all the reports and prepare for
race days.
Ups and downs
Talking to Vijay personally and listening to
him commentate certainly makes his voice and tone totally different. If one had
not seen Vijay personally and only heard his voice, one would not be faltered
for making him out to be of a European decent.
On predictions on races, Vijay recalled where
he called five wins on a race day.
His biggest blunder: “When I called the
winner from the next day’s race. I immediately apoligised and made the
correction. It happens, but rarely. We are human after all. But the irony was
the winner I had called mistakenly on the first day, emerged winner the next
day!”
Surprisingly, Walter’s most memorable day in
his career had nothing to do with the horses or jockeys, but his live interview
with Manchester United’s Sir Alex Ferguson during his visit in the early 2001
when he came to the Selangor Turf Club to watch a horse named MU. He was
invited Tunku Shahabuddin Tunku Besar Burhanuddin.
“I was shell-shocked when called up to
interview Sir Alex and did a 20 minute interview about horses and football. He
was such a gentleman and made me feel so comfortable. I will never forget this
day although I am Arsenal fan.
“I have met top jockey, trainers, went for
top races around the world and horses is my world. I am indeed blessed.
‘Who’s gunna get it’
“But people like me are a dying breed and I
intend to train a few to take up the job before I call it quits.
Walter is best known for his phrase “who’s
gunna get it” which he uses often to describe a close finish.
Probably this phase is going to be used to
who is going to take his hot seat when the time comes.
