Legendary Kerry-born racing commentator passes away

He was still very alert.

Known as one of the shrewdest punters in the game, he was still beating the bookies in his later years.

O’Sullevan’s commentaries of the Grand National will rank as his most memorable.

Suny Bay’s Hennessy Gold Cup victory in 1997 was the last race on television he called and he went into the Newbury winner’s enclosure the very next race after Mick Fitzgerald carried his colours to victory on Sounds Fyne.

His glittering array of connections made him a must-read writer for the Daily Express, for whom he worked for 37 years and tipped many a big-race victor, usually supported with his own money, as he was well-known to enjoy a tilt at the ring.

O’Sullevan, admitted his most hard call was when his own horse Attivo won the prestigious Triumph Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival in 1974.

A great acquaintance of Lester Piggott, he was racing royalty – he was The Queen’s personal guest at Royal Ascot on Ladies’ Day in the Diamond Jubilee year of 2012 – and often used his elevated status to criticise the BBC for scaling back its racing coverage.

“I always remember in the days when racing was on the evening news, they’d show the last furlong of the Classics”, Mullins said.

Author Felix Francis, son of thriller writer and racing legend Dick Francis, said of O ” Sullevan, who was a great friend to both his father and him: “The Voice of Racing will be greatly missed both on the racecourse and by the animal welfare charities for whom he tirelessly fundraised through his charitable trust. At Cheltenham such as Arkle’s head-to-head with Mill House in the 1964 Gold Cup, and his famous Goodwood commentaries included the scintillating finish to the 1992 Sussex Stakes. “It was some effort to do that”.

He had the ability to engender tingling excitement with the slightest change in the tone of his mellifluous voice that became so familiar, and so unflappable, over 50 years. “It is a mark of the man”.

“You’d switch the TV on and it would be Peter giving the commentary”.

McManus told At The Races: “He had a very good quality you’d love to have yourself”.

Roly Owers, chief Executive of World Horse Welfare added: “Not only has Sir Peter been a tireless supporter since childhood for our campaign to stop the long-distance transport of horses across Europe for slaughter, but not many know that Sir Peter was also the inspiration behind the launch of our worldwide programmes 30 years ago, which have since helped hundreds of thousands of working horses in developing countries around the world”.

He said: “He was the greatest commentator of all time, simple”.

With typical professionalism and understatement, he relayed the information to BBC viewers: “And it’s Attivo first, trained by Cyril Mitchell, ridden by Robert Hughes, owned by Peter O’Sullevan”. “What he had you couldn’t buy”.

Sir Peter was also well known in British high society for his dazzling wit.