The second in a series of four articles on the commentators at Addington Raceway.
Reon Murtha
The dulcet tones of Reon Murtha filled the on course speakers at Addington Raceway for 35 years (1971 – 2006), together with the local Christchurch and frequently national radio airwaves and in latter years the Trackside TV channel. These thirty five years at Addington, were not the sum total of his race calling experiences which in fact spanned at period of 47 years from his first call on the West Coast at the 8 October 1960 Reefton meeting through until his final race calling day on 10 January 2007 also at Reefton. This is reminiscent of Dave Clarkson who’s first and last calls were also at the same track, in his case Motukarara.. Known as a thorough professional and a gentleman, Reon was a legendary race caller and a popular trackside commentator who ranked with the very best in the industry in NZ and overseas.
From a family of enthusiastic amateurs steeped in West Coast racing history, Reon’s father was on the committee of the Reefton Jockey and Trotting Clubs, whilst his grand father served as a clerk of the course. Of Irish descent and a devout Catholic, Murtha attended a Catholic seminary in Christchurch during his third form year before returning back to his hometown of Reefton. His childhood ambition had been to be a race caller and his radio announcer training in Greymouth provided him with experience in using his voice and language in the correct manner to facilitate this. He commenced his broadcasting career as a technician, then began his part time race calling career while becoming a radio announcer. The ten years of race calling on the West Coast had to be undertaken during his days off. These early calls were made in open grandstands situated among the crowd with a microphone strapped to his chest and at Reefton it entailed standing on a beer crate!! Murtha had to submit to a tape recording of those first calls before being allowed to call the next Labour Weekend meeting (late October 1960) at Greymouth
Reon made his first race call at Riccarton Park in 1969 when commuting from Greymouth to make such calls. Following his appointment as the Racing/Trotting commentator for Canterbury in 1971, he became the only contracted caller in the area. His first call at Addington (appointed February 1971) was a Canterbury Park Trotting Club meeting in March 1971 following that years Christchurch Interdominions. In the years that followed, Murtha became the race caller of choice at most race courses in the greater Canterbury district (North, Mid and South Canterbury plus of course Reefton) e.g. Timaru he took over from Lochie Marshall in 1993 and retained that particular calling spot until 2006. In 1984 awarded the Pater Award as Australasia’s best race commentator, one of a number of thoroughbred and harness racing awards received by him. In the 1990’s he became a fulltime racing commentator when race broadcasts moved from RNZ to Radio Pacific.. Reon Murtha went onto become the voice of NZ Racing.
Reon saw his first Interdominion (ID) Championship as a spectator in 1961 at Addington when Massacre upset False Step in a closely contested finish. The 1960/61 season featured as his rookie year as a small time commentator on the West Coast. The first ID called for NZ audiences was from Globe Derby Park, Adelaide in 1976 when Chris Lewis as a 20yo drove Carclew to victory. The following year in Brisbane, Reon called home for the first time a NZ owned/trained/driven horse in Stanley Rio (although trainer George Noble was Australian by birth). Stanley Rio was born in Tasmania and sold to his owners Wayne Francis (joint Nevele R proprietor), George and son John Noble, Stanley Rio’s driver by the other Nevele R joint proprietor in Tasmanian born Bob McArdle. You would have to say this win was one for good Trans Tasman relations. For these first two years, Reon led tours on behalf of Air New Zealand. He continued to call Interdominions for NZ radio listeners for many years (1976 – 1992 excluding when they were raced at Alexandra Park, Auckland).
Reon Murtha took over from David Clarkson at Addington after the 1971 ID’s (Clarkson’s final Addington race calling assignment) so his first NZ ID championship call came in March 1979 at the Christchurch ID‘s. This was when Rondel in the hands of master NZ reinsman Peter Wolfenden managed to squeeze through a small gap along the rails left by Sapling to win by a length. Reon’s involvement with the in Interdominions in later years, was in leading NZ tour parties to the Interdominions. Accompanied by his wife Pam, he did this initially for House of Travel franchise, Young & Lee Travel (1978 – 2006); McCrory Thomas Travel (2007) and Warwick Beatson Travel in 2008 and 2009, the last of these tours was to the Gold Coast ID’s.
Reon Murtha’s career was far more rounded than just being that of a race caller, his career included being local Christchurch radio station Radio 3ZB’s Sports Editor and also presenting a community religious programme (Plains FM). He was experienced at calling rugby and rugby league fixtures, produced and/or fronted numerous radio and TV sports programmes, broadcasting events from the 1974 and 1982 Commonwealth Games in Christchurch and Brisbane respectively. Reon was invited by the BBC to be one of two Commonwealth broadcasters for the 23 July 1986 Royal Wedding of HRH Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson at Westminster Abbey. This was followed immediately by his attendance at the 1986 Commonwealth Games (24 July – 2 August 1986) in Edinburgh, Scotland (previously hosted 1970 edition) which obviously led to his being chosen as NZ’s Track and Field commentator at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.
Other work included leading numerous tours as an escort on behalf of Young and Lee Travel – these included visits to 1979 Little Brown Jug series in Delaware; 1981 Meadowlands Pace; 1983 Kentucky Derby; 1984 English Derby and Royal Ascot in June; 1991 Rothmans July in Durban, South Africa. On the racing front, during some of these tours he was invited to call at meetings all over the world – in Ireland at a light harness meeting at Portmarnock in Dublin; the Red Mile in Lexington, Kentucky; Durban and Johannesburg in South Africa together with a number of Australian harness racing tracks for RNZ.
Reon Murtha was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM) for his services to broadcasting in the 2004 New Years Honours. Shortly after receiving this honour, he had a cataract operation but was determined to continue calling for the foreseeable future. He retired following the November 2006 Canterbury NZ Cup’s carnival (his 36th year of calling NZ Trotting/Galloping Cups), although his last call was made at Reefton JC’s 10 January 2007 meeting where it had all begun 47 years earlier. On his retirement, he was made a life member of the Canterbury Jockey Club and has life memberships at Addington Raceway and both Reefton clubs (Jockey and Trotting). Continuing to work for the Racing Industry Board using his lifetime experience, he contributed to the future of race broadcasting by mentoring a new generation of caller’s (e.g. one year plus follow ups with Tom Wood). Keeping busy he still attends local meetings (both harness and thoroughbred), especially premier races and country meetings, watching avidly the remainder on television. He spends time working on maintaining or reducing his golfing handicap.. Called on as a guest speaker on many occasions, a more recent invitation was at Forbury Park’s hundred years Centennial Dinner in 2009.
Looking back, Reon can recall numerous fond memories of his race calling days. Events such as : Hands Down and Delightful Lady engaging in a length of the straight tussle in 1980 NZ Cup; Stanley Rio 1977 ID’s win at Albion Park; Show Gate’s wins on all three days of the 1974 NZ Cup Carnival at distances of 1200m, 2000m (with slipped saddle) on middle day and back to 1600m on final day; Empire Rose’s 1987 NZ Cup victory just 11 days after her half length second to Kensei in the Melbourne Cup (she subsequently won the 1988 Melbourne Cup). His most emotional moment came following Lord Module’s win in the 1981 Alan Matson FFA on the final night of the NZ Cup Carnival (21 November 1981). After champion like performances earlier in his career, Lord Module had become a rogue – banned from the 1981 NZ Cup, he’d broken, sat down on the track and generally taken a dislike to racing.. In this race he beat great horses (Armalight, Hands Down, Bonnies Chance, Gammalite) in the then electric time of 3:15.5 (2600m) for trainer Cecil Devine and driver Jack Smolenski. Reon’s race call is remembered word for word by many harness fans such was the emotion generated by the performance.. Straight after the race the crowd stormed out of the stands towards the birdcage and the great horse as if the stands were on fire. Reon recalls choking back the tears when describing it on radio.
Reon’s worst moment/lowlight came in the 1983 One Thousand Guineas (3yo Fillies) at Riccarton, when he called winner Burletta as another, possibly Quite Regal. Among the funniest moments – several including seeing ducks crossing the track at Addington; a hare leading the field for a lap at Addington and Robert Cameron disappearing through the outer iron corrugated fence when unable to control trotter Mighty Lee from crashing through the fence that opened and shut like a saloon bar door.
The best of series : Horses – Lordship who raced against Cardigan Bay on five occasions and beat him home in three of them. A great free-for-aller, he raced off difficult handicaps, won the 1966 NZ Cup off 42 yards, may have further enhanced his reputation if he had raced overseas and was of course a great sire. Murtha has time for Christian Cullen while nominating Show Gate and Sunline, both mares as brilliant thoroughbred racehorses. Drivers – Maurice Holmes, Tony Herlihy and now Dexter Dunn who impressed Murtha from the very beginning of his driving career as a superb talent showing great skill, excellent judgement and patience. As a young driver he’s already proved himself to be one of the country’s outstanding drivers comparing favourably with past legends and all of the top rated present day drivers. Jockeys – fan of Grenville Hughes (northern jockey – 1,270 winners over 35 seasons from 1942 – 1976 in NZ and Australia; two premierships; rider with outstanding technique and associated with Mainbrace) and Lance O’Sullivan (champion and most successful NZ jockey over 23 seasons 1980 – 2003; 2,357 NZ winners ands 2,479 worldwide riding in 6 countries overseas including 1989 Japan Cup with Horlicks; 11 premierships equalled Bill Broughton‘s NZ record). Naturally there was always a close West Coast bond with the famous Skelton family.
The third in the Voices of Addington series will continue our look at Reon Murtha’s career.
Peter Craig
25 February 2016
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
Driving The Future Of Harness Racing
