'Fact To File has won the John Durkan!' - it's time to help Chris Cook pick the best racing commentary from 2024

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It's time once again to think about which was the best commentary of the year, an award the Front Runner started in 2022. It still strikes me as crazy that no one else is organising such an award, which seems like an easy win. Everyone has an opinion on what makes a good commentary and our race-callers in Britain and Ireland deserve recognition.

One day, perhaps, Commentary of the Year will be the centrepiece of a gala dinner. Or perhaps it could be the theme for a Saturday fixture early in January, where racegoers are invited to vote for their favourite from a shortlist chosen by an expert panel.

In the meantime, the Front Runner still has a monopoly, which puts enormous power into the hands of you, a reader of the Front Runner. That's because we need your nominations for the best commentary you've heard this year, whether it be from a high-profile contest or something more humble at your local track that was especially well described.

Once we've read your suggestions, we'll choose the four strongest contenders and then next week you can pick a winner in our Front Runner poll. The winner will be revealed in our Boxing Day edition.

Jerry Hannon: two-time winner of the Front Runner awardCredit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com)

What we've already established in the short lifespan of our award is that Jerry Hannon is popular. Ireland's chief racing commentator has won both votes so far, pipping Richard Hoiles each time.

In 2022, you loved his call of the Royal Bond, when Marine Nationale got up on the line to deny Irish Point. The temptation in those tight finishes is to play it safe with some variation on "I'll leave that to the judge," but Hannon named the winner just as he poked his nose in front, and did so in a way that conveyed the thrill of the moment.

"On second viewing, I wasn't sure," he told the Front Runner at the time. "That line at Fairyhouse has caught me in the past. 

"I'm pretty much on the line there but it can be tricky. I'm not being paid to be the judge ... but you like to call it right."

Last year, it was his description of a three-way tussle in the Galway Hurdle that met with your approval. "A hundred yards to go: Zarak The Brave, My Mate Mozzie, Jesse Evans on the stands' side - Zarak The Brave has done it for the four-year-olds!"

Zarak The Brave: Galway Hurdle win proved 2023's most popular momentCredit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)

Reduced to cold type, it might not look like much, but it really works when infused with Hannon's sense of occasion and drama. And, of course, both those calls were detailed and accurate portrayals of races in which a lot was happening.

Hoiles has been knocking on the door, having also had some excellent material. He was second in 2022 for his description of Shishkin running down Energumene at Ascot and then again last year for: "Stay Away Fay stayed all day" in the Albert Bartlett. He missed out on last year's prize by less than two per cent of the vote.

So which commentary proved memorable for you this year? Email me at frontrunner@racingpost.com to let me know and perhaps your choice will come out on top.

I'm just going to throw out some ideas to see what you make of them. The John Durkan was obviously one of the best races we've seen in recent months and it gives Hannon a fine chance of a three-peat, as he deftly handled the ebb and flow of four horses' chances in the final straight. 

With a similar cast, Hannon also did excellent work in the closing stages of the Irish Gold Cup: "Galopin Des Champs looks to have his measure as he's about to avenge defeats inflicted by his great rival [Fastorslow]. It's Galopin Des Champs who lights up another Dublin Racing Festival..."

Bluestocking running down Emily Upjohn in the Pretty Polly was another good one for Hannon. 

Bluestocking: ran down Emily Upjohn for a dramatic Pretty Polly winCredit: Caroline Norris (racingpost.com/photos)

Remember all the trouble in running in the Champion Stakes? It would have been easy to make a mess of that but Simon Holt and Hoiles both used their skill to add to the drama.I liked Hoiles's handling of the Eclipse, when he immediately caught the mood: "City Of Troy making very hard work of it. On either side there are challengers ... City Of Troy is going to do enough and rather wins the Eclipse in a scrambled fashion." 

Unlike other commentators, Hoiles doesn't get to hang up the mic after calling the first few over the line. He than has to give some instant analysis for the benefit of ITV viewers and is good at it, as you can hear if you follow that Eclipse link.

I also enjoyed his version of a hectic 1,000 Guineas, with Ramatuelle capsizing in the closing stages. Alan Howes did well with the July Cup, Mill Stream edging out Swingalong, as did Stewart Machin when the same winner took a dramatic Duke Of York. 

Simon Holt heightened the tension as three fought out the Aintree Hurdle and he also saw Absurde coming in the County Hurdle.

David Fitzgerald made the most of a good opportunity in the St James's Palace Stakes, when Rosallion's powerful finish did the job over Henry Longfellow. 

Hopefully, that's something to get your teeth into but obviously there will be lots of contenders. Do please let me know (frontrunner@racingpost.com) which of these or any other commentaries need to be on our shortlist. Thanks in advance for any help!

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The Front Runner is our unmissable email newsletter available exclusively to Members' Club Ultimate subscribers. Chris Cook, the reigning Racing Writer of the Year, provides his take on the day's biggest stories and tips for the upcoming racing every morning from Monday to Friday. Not a Members' Club Ultimate subscriber? Click here to join today and also receive our Ultimate Daily emails plus our full range of fantastic website and newspaper content.