A FITTING FINALE TO A FABULOUS CAREER

By Graham Potter | Sunday, December 27, 2015

When you have your audience give you a standing ovation, when they sing out ‘there is only one Alan Thomas’ and when they stay behind long enough to make certain they are part of a special moment ... well, you must have being doing something right.

Alan Thomas ... AT ... had seemingly been preparing himself well enough for his last race call for the past two weeks, but when the Goldmarket Handicap was finally run and won as the last race on the card at the Gold Coast yesterday, it didn’t take long for the emotion to take over.

AT’s voice, normally so sure, crackled with feeling and his eyes, normally so focussed, blurred for a moment with tears as a the reality as the moment that signalled the end of a forty-four year old career passed into the history books.

But it was all good.

“You can do what you like but I’ve found out you can’t really prepare yourself for a day like this,” AT said. “Well, you can and you can’t.

"By that I mean you can probably prepare yourself for races one to eight, but when you get to race nine ... my last race ... no, you can’t prepare yourself for that.

“When I arrived at the track I just wanted to try and keep the feelings in check. You know it is going to be a tough day. You know it is your last day and you want to call well because you are not coming back next week and you are only as good as your last performance.

“It was good racing, which probably made it better for me as well and to be surrounded by family and friends when commentating from the grandstand area instead of being stuck in a commentary box by myself just made it that much more special.”

It was at AT’s request that he positioned in the heart of the grandstand, far below his usual elevated position, for his final day of commentary. He was particularly emotional when he explained the reason behind that choice when speaking directly to the crowd after putting away his ‘work’ binoculars for the last time.

“Why I wanted to come and commentate from the grandstand area ... which is not the greatest spot to call horses from, I can tell you ... was because you people stood beside me for a long time and I just wanted the crowd today to represent all of the public who have supported me over forty-four years,” AT said.

“You can’t go forty-four years in this job without public support. You can’t get there without them and the most important aspect on the day for me ... was them ... and I wanted to show my appreciation by being out there with the people and thanking them for their support.

“I’ve also got to thank the Gold Coast Turf Club. Brett Cook, the chairman, Arch McDonald, the vice chairman and Dale St George, the CEO. They turned the place upside down to accommodate me and make sure that all of my friends and family that came down had a good day.

“Thankfully, the weatherman was a liar. He said it was going to rain, but it turned out to be a superb day.

“So, I couldn't have asked for more. It was a really a great day.

“I’ll always treasure it!”

In keeping with his character, AT wasn’t only focussed on himself. He found time to not only introduce Josh Fleming, AT’s replacement, into the conversation, but he also gave Fleming a leg up into the saddle with a glowing endorsement.

“Josh Fleming is going to be an amazing addition to Queensland racing. People don’t know him that well yet but, when I ride off into the sunset and get out of the way, he is going to be an amazing asset to Queensland racing for a long, long time.”

And AT’s final message.

“I just want to thank everybody for their support. I wish everybody well, good punting ... but most of all I wish everybody good health.

“Goodbye.”

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