Sydney caller Darren Flindell almost, and I mean almost, delivered a race call at Rosehill on Saturday that would have been immortalised.
Not quite London to a brick on, but sooo, sooo close to the Accurate One’s Cox Plate call.
You know the Accurate One, right?
It was Bill Collins and he was a sensational race caller. But one day, with about 400m left in the Cox Plate, he said, “Kingston Town can’t win.”
But he did win.
Well, Darren said pretty much the same line, only he replaced Kingston Town with Yogi on Saturday in the Winter Cup.
And it was at about the same stage of the race, and like the King, Yogi lifted almost immediately he heard the call.
He came with a charge between runners and if not for the handsome, ageing head of Destiny’s Kiss, Flindell’s call would live on in perpetuity.
One centimetre separated Flindell from a lifetime of being reminded, remembered and chastened for getting it horribly wrong.
“I was and will always be grateful to Destinys,” he said.
“But I was horrified by the well named ‘low’ angle shot.
“It saved me from a big Yogi boo boo.”
Flindell, like every race caller with blood pumping through his veins, has heard the Bill Collins call at least a million times.
It seems the media pack revel in showcasing caller mistakes.
One centimetre saved him from a life time of scorn.
One centimetre. No wonder he loves Destinys Kiss right now.
Probably should ask trainer Joe Pride can he pop over and give the old boy….a kiss for changing his destiny!
