Racing has provided a number of ‘pinch me’ moments in my life but the biggest arrived last Sunday night, far away from any course.
I never envisaged a situation where I’d be part of a team that found itself front and centre at the BAFTAs, being mentioned alongside monster television programmes such as Happy Valley, Top Boy and Succession but here we are. This has been a week I will never, ever forget.
When I arrived at the BAFTAs, I anticipated the Women’s World Cup, for Match of the Day, would win the award for Best Sports Coverage in 2023. I was thrilled and proud for ITV to be on the shortlist, alongside the Wimbledon men’s final.
As a former odds compiler, I’d have had the Women’s World Cup as 1-4 favourites but we see it every day in racing — hotpots don’t always oblige and the judges felt the way we covered the golden hour at Cheltenham, featuring Constitution Hill and Honeysuckle, deserved the gong.
To be clear, this column isn’t me slapping my own back. I’m a cog in an exceptional team, from our director Paul McNamara to lads such as Adrian and Damo, who so brilliantly walk backwards around paddocks with heavy cameras while one of the presenters gives you their guide to the horses.
First past the post! Ed Chamberlin and the ITV Racing team pose after winning at the BAFTAs
The team claimed the award for Best Sports Coverage in 2023 for their work on day one of the Cheltenham Festival
Racing is unbeatable and the possibilities for stories are limitless – we must seize on what this sport has to offer
The award is for everyone. But the award left me thinking about racing — and why the sport needs to recognise the popularity we have and the drama we provided. When it all comes together, like it did in March 2023, racing is unbeatable and the possibilities for stories are limitless. We must seize on it.
The London Gold Cup is one of my favourite races of the year, a handicap that is effectively a Group race. Ballydoyle won it last year and they can win it again with CHANTILLY (Newbury, 3pm).
It is our absolute privilege to be in the position to broadcast it all and beam it in to your homes every week
Let me take you back to the afternoon that enabled us to win the award. We first had Constitution Hill taking off like an aeroplane, his brilliance leaving us all spellbound. I will never forget that picture of him leaping, panther-like, across the final flight as he roared away with the Champion Hurdle.
But then came Honeysuckle. I can remember the line I said before she and Rachael Blackmore went out on the course — ‘is it time for this partnership to have one, last dance?’ — and what happened in the following few moments was absolutely extraordinary.
I was praised by the judges for letting the pictures do the talking in the aftermath of their win but I didn’t have much choice — Sir Anthony McCoy, Ruby Walsh and Mick Fitzgerald were all so overcome with emotion, they were choked up and had difficulty speaking.
What made this story so out of the ordinary were the circumstances around young Jack de Bromhead having been killed six months earlier; his father, Henry, is a class act and I can still see him shaking his fists, in a manner that was very unlike him, as Honeysuckle returned to be unsaddled.
Jack is never far from anyone’s thoughts and that is why I felt it was important to dedicate the BAFTA to his memory. I had the loveliest message from Blackmore, our sport’s most famous face, telling me how much the support they have received means to the De Bromheads.
That afternoon, Constitution Hill took off like an aeroplane as he raced to win the Champion Hurdle
One of the best storylines from that day was Honeysuckle and Rachel Blackmore’s victory
Racing is a unique sport. Not many others can boast the same crowds coming together as one to lift someone up
This is what makes racing unique. No other sport sees crowds coming together as one to lift someone up. There is no tribalism in racing and that allows horses such as Honeysuckle, Constitution Hill and, before them, Sprinter Sacre, Kauto Star and Istabraq to almost become public property.
I can see something similar happening this summer with Big Evs. He has got to the potential to be a ‘people’s horse’ and his story, with owners Paul and Rachael Teasdale running the flying machine in honour of their late, great mate Paul Evans, is utterly compelling.
It is our absolute privilege to be in the position to broadcast it all and beam it in to your homes every week. We will continue to back ourselves at ITV and racing must back itself, knowing the product on show is appealing to all. This BAFTA wasn’t just good news for us — it was good news for everyone.
Ed Chamberlin is a Sky Bet UK ambassador
