4 days ago
Race caller Tony Wode shares greatest Townsville Cup highlight ahead of his 41st call of the race
It might not be on the same breathtaking level of Makybe Diva's three straight Melbourne Cup wins, but veteran race caller Tony Wode thought the roof would come off the grandstand when Party King scored a Townsville Cup three-peat 22 years ago.
The 63-year-old Wode will call his 41st Townsville Cup on Saturday, but the personal highlight of the time-honoured event was Party King's epic victory in 2002.
'I thought they'd bring the roof off the place when he won that third time,' Wode said of the huge crowd at Cluden Park that memorable day.
'He probably stands out as the biggest highlight for me calling all those cups. They've named a grandstand after him up here so he's still remembered.
'I think Party King stands out because given the modern-day handicapping system, it's highly unlikely another horse will be able to do that again.'
The Ricky Vale-trained Namazu had a golden chance for a three-peat last year when the gelding was favourite but he bucked at the barriers and finished last.
Wode, one of nine siblings, developed a passion for racing from his late dad Phil, who worked as a horse and greyhound trainer.
The veteran race caller learned the ropes from his mentor Graham Sewell and like most rookies in such a high-pressure role, he made a couple of blunders while finding his feet.
'You've just got to face the music,' he said.
'I made a couple of clangers in the early days and I found you've got to front up to the trainers' bar.
'There will always be a couple of trainers who will have a crack but you just have to show them you've got a set of gonads.'
And like most race callers, Wode has developed a few pre-race rituals, especially for bigger meetings like the Townsville Cup, which was first contested in 1884.
'At a regular meeting I might slip downstairs and talk to some of the trainers and jockeys around the stables but on Cup Day I pretty much stay in the box,' he said.
'A lot of people are superstitious in the racing game and I'm no different. As I've gotten older, I'm far more of a creature of habit.
'I like to get there early and get myself settled. I don't like anything to be thrown up but it does happen on tracks.'
Wode, who once called a rare triple dead-heat in a Townsville race meeting, doesn't hesitate when asked about his favourite Townsville Cup ride outside of Party King's outstanding achievement.
'One of my favourite cup-winning rides was Peter Losh on King's Promise (in 1985),' said Wode, who is affectionately known as 'Chopper'.
'He flew in from Sydney and I met him at the track to do an interview the day before.
'We walked part of the track together and he ran through how he was going to come from last and win it.
'It played out exactly as he said and he thundered home from last and won by a nose.'
