“Privileged” Matt Hill ready for Melbourne’s Spring
THE voice of racing in Victoria, Matt Hill, is under no illusions how important the spring carnival is to the sport racing, and the 36-year-old said he will be prepared for what will be the biggest period of the caller’s career.
Hill, who took over as the main race caller from beloved veteran Greg Miles earlier in the year, will call his first-ever Melbourne Spring Carnival, which includes Winx’s attempt at a third-straight Cox Plate crown.
The “nervous and excited” Hill said the feature event at Moonee Valley is the race that could be his defining call of the spring.
“When you’re a race caller, every race is the same, it’s pretty much the same thing,” Hill told HorseBetting.com.au at Benalla, where he was enjoying MC duties at the club.
“Then there’s a race that has Winx. You just know that race will be replayed over and over again.
“I was at a function the other night and they replayed Kingston Town’s three Cox Plate wins and that’s 35 years ago. Which means whatever I say goes down in folklore.
“There’s every chance that my call will be replayed 35 years from now too, so I’m nervous about that.”
Race calling is widely acknowledged as one of the hardest sports to call as it is unfolding, and given the attention that the spring carnival garners, preparation to a broadcaster is vital.
Hill believes the build-up to the big events is imperative if the product is going to be at its peak.
“I guess it’s a little bit like being an athlete,” Hill elaborated.
“You have to just time your run and keep doing the same things. It’s important to get a good night’s sleep but it’s hard to get a decent sleep before a big day. It just keeps rolling around in your head.
“You just want to be as fresh as you can before the race, because it’s such a mental game, but overall you know it’s important and you just try and stay calm and keep it all contained.”
The October and November period is where racing comes alive in Australia, and everywhere you look there are group races being run right around the country.
While Hill said the Melbourne Cup is the “pinnacle”, there are still plenty of events he is looking forward to across the cup carnival.
“I reckon the Caulfield Guineas is going to be a terrific race this year,” he said.
“There’s some really good horses going around like Royal Symphony, Trapeze Artist, Merchant Navy and Catchy if she goes there.”
The Guineas is the race Hill is most looking forward to, but he said you cannot beat the quality of racing once it heads to Victoria’s headquarters.
“For me the four days at Flemington is just the best, the way it’s balanced is just terrific.
“You’ve got the Derby, then you have this race that’s just out of control that the whole nation just stops for, and all the build up that comes with that.
“Then there’s Ladie’s Day, which is an entire different day all-together, and the Oaks is always a really good race to do, but the best race I reckon to do for the whole carnival is the Darley Classic.
“It’s always a hot race and it’s just a great way to finish it, but I’m just very privileged that I get to do the calls.”
The purists will point to a number of key events throughout the carnival as their favoured races, but in the minds of most casual fans the carnival is defined by the Melbourne Cup.
While Hill’s tip for the big one may not have turned heads in recent Australian runs, he is sticking alongside a former Irish galloper.
“I’m going to stick with Crocodile Rock,” Hill said.
“Almandin was really good the other day, but they went quite a gallop and Crocodile Rock was there fourth or fifth amongst those horses that were going quite hard and still managed to be there at the end.
“I reckon if people sit down and watch that race again, even though you are wowed by Almandin, the run was a great one for Crocodile Rock.”
Crocodile Rock is a $34 chance at Ladbrokes.com.au to win this year’s Melbourne Cup.
Hill admits he will be hoping for a cup win from the outsider to help make his maiden cup call a special one.
“I’m a great believer of history and an eight-year-old has not won it for 80 years.
“History is there to be broken, so I’m going to stick with Crocodile Rock.”