Bruce McAvaney | Legendary sports broadcaster (19.03.26)

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participation, which varies. Want to have your say? Ring Jared on 1300 736 736 now back to

lately. Athletics horse racing in 48 we are in the sweet spot for legendary Channel 7 Broadcaster

Bruce McEvany. Bruce always wanted to have you on the program. Welcome back.

Hey, good to chat to you too, Jared. You were drawn to Brisbane to watch Jack out of the weekend.

How'd you find him? Look, I did just want to go up and have a look and as a fan,

so to speak, and catch up with these managers, just chat about a few things. And look, he was under

the weather. I knew he had a cold before I got there. And so his times weren't quite as spectacular

as we expected. There's a pretty stiff headwind. Rory Eastern ran incredibly well. So I feel like

we've got another athlete to watch. But he ran well. I mean, it's a really good run into a

stiff head breeze, not fully 100%. You know, he's two weeks away from a big race for him,

the Mori Plan. Locky Kennedy waits. We know what happened last year, Jared. So he's going well.

He ran 10 seconds flat three weeks ago. I think he's right on target for the Royal Junior

Championships. So it's a big year for him. He's going to arguably be the highest profile athlete

at those championships. And there'll be a lot of pressure that comes with that. And he's been

a slightly different position to what he's been before, certainly in an international sense.

What is it about Gout that that lights the fire for you as a sport fan, Bruce?

I think he trends since, don't you? I mean, I don't know about you, Jared, but if I'm asked

questions about athletes, 90% of them surround him and that, you know, we've got a lot of depth

for the moment, but it's so much talent. But I think everybody's, you know, enamored with him,

they want to follow this journey with him. It's a great backstory. He's only just, I don't

I hope this is public, but they're going into a new home that Gout's been out, but I hope he's

bothered and farther with and he's doing six sisters and brothers. Look, he said, great, young fella.

And I think Bruce been standing out there, sitting out there, he's going to be 24 years of age.

They are there. I mean, Browning came along in Tokyo, Kennedy's around, but we haven't had that

male alpha sprinted too often over the years, isn't it? He's great to watch. I mean,

there's a bit of, there's a bit of colorless about him. There's a bit of, you're saying both of

that. And so it's, it's hard not to be drawn towards him. Look, I, I know him pretty well.

He's respectful. He's really kind of beautiful head on his shoulders and he's a good person.

You mentioned, so Saturday week in Melbourne, the Murray plant meet, which feels like it grows in

stature annually and it's going to be a major television event as it was last year on Channel 7.

So just, it, it, Lockheed Kennedy got him as you, as you referred to. How important is it

for Gout to turn the tables, do you think? Pretty important, I think. I mean, it's not,

it's not life changing at the end of his career. We're probably, Jared, not going to say, oh,

we're out. But look, these, these early, these early forays are important, I think. And

there's a good rivalry. They, they get on pretty well. I mean, Lockheed Lockheed,

he's a, he's an incredible talent. He's quicker than Gout. I, you know, in this 30 or 40 meters,

and that's what's going to make somebody now. He's, I think, going to be drawn outside Gout.

I'm pretty sure that's the case. I think Lockheed wants to Rudy outside, draw Gout more in the

middle. So Gout, I'm going to do a lot of chasing here. Yeah, it is significant. I think in the eyes

of the public as well. I think we're all excited to, there's not one, there's, you know, there might

be two. And if Kennedy were to win again, then that's a significant victory for him. Lockheed

on two races, Jared. So he's going to run the 100. And then about, uh, an hour and three quarters

eighties, he's going to run the two. That suits him. That's what he wants to do. He wants that

100 to, I guess, I guess inflame the juices, so to speak. And it may be a lax him in a way,

because there is a huge build up to this race. So where Gout will be waiting as he did last year,

waiting for that last race of the night, you know, I'm really excited about it. Do you want to say,

we, you know, how many times have we had this in your lifetime in a struggling athlete,

a battle royal between two male or female sprinters like this, and then right in ball,

these boards a long time ago, and then the games, and then the games from Kathy was a little bit,

you know, a little bit different, but they're 200. They came together and they had some great

clashes as well. So it doesn't happen to. Gout's strategy not to go to the Commonwealth Games

Bruce to go to the world under 20 championships, and you would understand this better than most.

What, why is that the right call? He's 18. It's an enormous thing to prepare for championships.

There's a round, there's pressure, there's an incredible amount of media, there's travel involved.

And I think they thought of themselves, if we had one focus this year, and I know this, I don't think,

we've got one focus this year to win a world championship, but under 20, or be it,

he won't get another chance, you'll be, that's three days too old for the next one.

So this is, for the Commonwealth Games, I feel like, you know, they're there hopefully, hopefully,

forever, you know, four years time to centenary, and then he can go there. It was just a proximity.

Had to come with games being two weeks extra in terms of the separation, he would have done both.

It was just a very quick turn around, and the fact I think that the world juniors were second,

and not first, had it been the other way, he may have gone to the world juniors and had he won,

I think he probably would have gone under the Commonwealth Games, but they're feeling like,

this is his one chance, and if he would have gone under the Commonwealth Games, and something

would not go completely right for him, I feel like it would perhaps really make that job in

Eugene even more difficult for him, sir. It is completely understandable. It's disappointing.

We all wanted him to go to the Commonwealth Games as such a high play fellow bit of our country,

much higher, of course, than the world juniors, but I think that's completely understandable.

Yep, yep. So we see him on Saturday night, till next Saturday night in Melbourne. Just the

the growth of that Murray Plant meat Bruce, and the fact that it carries the name of a man that

you knew and worked with so closely is how have you seen it evolved in the last couple of years?

Murray, just some incredible things for so many athletes, and he'd love to see Gowdy,

he was a guy that got a lot of our athletes into races all around the world for decades,

and look, it's been really encouraging and exciting to, it's a gold meeting. So in

track and field, they set up away from the major championships with the structure,

diamond league group one, if you like, and then gold, which is the next level underneath them,

silver, bronze, and challenger. So these are the content that we've got in every two of

me, so ours is the only one sort of in this part of the world, so it's a very high-profile event.

We've got a really big group of international athletes coming, and we've been slightly

unlikely Joe, because they've been three consecutive world indoor championships, because of COVID,

they've been catching up. Yep, those world in the, they're on this Saturday, this

Saturday and Sunday, and they're going to be brilliant. They have slightly affected the

preparations, some of the athletes, and probably stopped one or two or three from competing at

my planter. I think next year we're free here from the world indoors, it may even be stronger,

but no, look, it is growing exponentially, and it's a great thing for the sport. It's a focus,

and that's what track and field needed in Australia. Sydney Marathons now providing that on the

roads. Melbourne Marathon with Kip Chucky coming this year certainly will provide a lot,

but that Sydney Marathon and the Murray plant meet are the two sort of, I guess, beacons that stand

out there, and people can focus on, and that's what we've got. The race seems pretty rich. That's

the humans. How about the horses on Saturday at Rose Hill, Golden Slipper Day? And rather remarkably,

James McDonald is highly likely to break Damien Oliver's all-time group one winning record. A record

that it stood for generations, Bruce, until Oli Broketer, and just a couple of years later,

just four years later, J-Mac is going to claim it. It is hard to get your head around. He's done

it so quickly, isn't it? He said himself two or three last week, I feel like I've got there

too quickly. That was going to respect Damien, I think, in so many ways. As you said, George Moore,

so that would have been in the early 1973, basically, he had that before, and he would have taken

that record. There's a little bit of conjecture here. It was probably from Scooby, but if you think

about it, George, if Tommy Hales is a sort of a marker, so he was at the 9th century, and he won

64 group ones. So he's, let's say he's a fat Bobby Lewis in the 9th, 20s, and 30s, 65s, so one

more than Tommy Hales. So the great Bobby Lewis for these four Melbourne Cups and Prelude Barby,

so he was the next. And then after him, it was probably Scooby. The problem with Scooby was

trying to sort of work it out. Is it so many of them were international, and he had about 30

odd in Australia. So let's say it is breezly in the 1950s, so that's breezly. So we've got up

three. George Moore in the late 1960s retires about 1971, that four, and then Oli comes along.

And you know, it's a hard slope for Oli because he doesn't have, he doesn't have those incredible

horses that James had, but he's like multiples on. And then Oli gets past George, and now we've

got James. So half a dozen in 167 years. But as you say, two in a blink, and then he's probably,

he's probably even money to break the record on the weekend. You'd certainly think you're

equal. And look, he's probably slightly better than the 50 percent chance when I really think

about it to break it. So this is what sort of confrontance on Saturday. On a day that is so rich,

it's arguably the, you know, the third, fourth or fifth biggest race meeting annually in Australia,

Melbourne Cup 1 ever is probably now to toss up Cox, Plank, Golden, Slipper, Championships,

of things. So in its own right, it's an incredible making. And yet it's got this, you know,

this story that, you know, is I think capturing not just racing people, but the wider sporting

and the new star of the turf is here as well. So you forecast coming into last spring that

VS. Estena would be the best horse in the country at the end of it. That's precisely what

happened. She's now retired. Has it moved to autumn glow? Are you prepared to ordain her the best

horse in the country? Yes, I am. And you know, every time she races, and that repetition goes on

the line, you are very connected with Black Caviar and weeks. And you know what it's like. And this is,

it's, it's, when no one knows, it's a bit like, how do you know where the journey's going to end

you? But she is unbeaten. She has always been an aura about a James, I said, from the very beginning,

when no, none of us really knew much about her, how special she might be. She cost $1.8 million,

she's got John Masaras alone and Chris of course has the trainer. So it's racing royalty all

around her, and she has stepped up to every challenge. She wants an episode with a big weight,

she wants Old and Eagle under, you know, not the easiest of conditions. And she's 10 for 10.

She's running in the George Rider. What a police about you. They're not showing away from her.

I mean, so filled with oil and it's a great filter. It's not like she's fighting people off it.

This is where Winx was as a four-year-old, as a me, you know, with the George Rider Sir.

Yeah, look, comparisons, we jump a bit too quickly. She's got so much to do, to, you know, to get

alongside those other couple horses. I talked about, she may now do that and wonder if it would be

crushing in terms of her reputation because we've got this invincibility surrounding it at the

moment. And she's certainly the number one horse I think of now. The thing with it, you know,

there's no, it can't find any vulnerability. She jumps out of a barrier well. She can take up a

position, you know, her distance range certainly is from, you know, 1200 through to what we're not

sure. And this is part of this autumn and maybe a cox plate, we're not sure what might happen,

but it's pretty hard to find. Well, Winx could be slow out of the battery, you know,

Black Caviar never got beyond 400 should have not sure if that's the wrong word, could have,

and Pete knows that, we all know that, but it's not the moment. You feel like, you know,

where's the weakness now? Should we test it again and settle? If it keeps raining,

this could be a bigger challenge. Now, she can handle it, but you would have seen last

day against Alianna. She wasn't completely comfortable in the very, very way conditions, so

that might be another talking point on Saturday. It doesn't race you to have a remarkable

capacity to renew its ranks. And then the stretch of mayors, so almost unbroken. We went

sunlight and then McCoyby, who's been remembered so fondly in the past couple of weeks, Black Caviar

and Winx in the, in the same generations unfathomable, vulvia, sustainer, and now we're into autumn

glow. I'm always, I know we have these group one races. So there are always horses winning at the

top level, but racing's capacity to renew its stock so quickly, or it, it, it, it, it, strikes me

as remarkable. It is, I don't know, it's because we, you know, we have 76 group one races a year,

so these races are there to be won, but, but that doesn't mean that horse is going to dominate

and catch the topic. And you are so right. I mean, one of the things with the mayors, I mean,

how do you get your ear to end it? But I think the obvious thing is that so many young

cults retire and analyze a good example too. Do you think if he hadn't raced on as a four-year-old?

His legacy is completely different. You know, as a four-year-old, he goes on in six group ones,

including the Cox-Paper, the Ludum's, the three-year-old. So many of our cults are retiring at three,

at all, very early into the four-year-old career. So the mayors do race on, and those mayors

that you mentioned, all had long careers. You know, some ride, McIvey-Dever, Black Caviar,

Winx, via Sistina, they all raced until they were at least seven years of age. So, you know,

they're around for a lot longer, and that's part of it. They get a little bit of weight relief,

you know, for age racing. That's, you know, that's a discussion. And they are still racing with the

cults. If their champions are off the start, now we have a lot of great guildings, you know,

Mr B, you know, all those horses. But it has been the story, I think, the big story of the

21st century in Australian racing is the domination of, you know, five or four or five years.

All right, you'll be at Rose Hill on Saturday, just any early impressions from 40, from 14 games?

Look, the big improvements, you know, three or four, the three teams of, you know, the hottest

of the name, it had been no particular, or the bulldogs, the sons, and the flams. But the

swans have got an explanation mark alongside of them, obviously, with the, you know, the cruel

injury, the guild, which is going to be significant. Adelaide of all sets started really well.

So there's a thing that I've looked at and high scoring, you know, very high scoring. Now,

is that because the coaches haven't, you know, they haven't got around to, I don't know, I mean,

these matches have been prepared for three or four months, but, and I'm enjoying it. It feels

really exciting. And, you know, we start this round with two matches that are absolutely

mouthwatering. So, yeah, so I think place three teams, particularly, and probably the close,

that certainly the bulldogs, the swans, and the sons are shoting Mary.

All right. Closing, sorry. And Bonson Pilly. And Bonson Pilly per track with Decos.

Well, when is Bramley not? Yes. They'll be polling big early. And maybe just a closing word,

Bruce, is losing Dennis would have been very personal and to you and to the family, our thoughts

have been with. And in amongst the sadness, just the recognition of what a beloved figure

he was and what a contribution he made to the game, were you able to take that in amidst the

sadness? No, for sure. And you say it so correctly, it was a very big shock. And it was, I

felt like I lost a part of myself to be, you know, in an absolute truism. And we were very close.

And it's, you know what it's like to work with the team. And I think of all the people I've worked

with over the years. Nobody has been closer in a working sense than I had with Dennis. It was,

you know, something that grew and became lasting. So, yeah, it was a big shock. The family,

a beautiful family. He'd walk into a room. He didn't have to say much to say a lot. And he had

way about him that every staff member that I certainly worked with alongside Dennis

felt the same as I did towards him. And I'm very fortunate that that relationship and work

alongside him. So, I felt an enormous loss, Jared. And, you know, it's been hard and hard to believe

in him. He'll always be around in so many ways. But, yeah, it was, it was so children and cell

upsetting. Beautifully remembered. Thank you, Bruce, as ever for your time. Good luck over the next

couple of weeks. We'll be watching the races at Rose Hill, the, the Murray plant here in Mill,

but the, and the 40 years will appreciate it as ever. All the best, you know, bye-bye.

Legendary Channel 7 Broadcaster Bruce McAvani.

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