Spotlight On: Mitchell Manners

By Brodie Nickson

As the page turns to an exciting new chapter in life for the Gold Coast Turf Club, leading Sydney broadcaster Mitchell Manners has become a prominent face and voice of the club.

Manners recently returned home to Queensland following 15 successful years working in Sydney and has been appointed the Gold Coast Turf Club’s race caller as a part of a five-year sponsorship deal with TAB.

Manners’ debut on the Gold Coast coincided with the club’s first ever meeting on the new polytrack surface at the end of January.

It was a monumental occasion for Manners, who was enthralled by race calling even before primary school.

“I grew up with everything to do with racing; going to trackwork, the races and the pub with Dad. It was just racing non-stop,” Manners said.

“Every time I went to the races I heard that booming voice come across the PA system and it was just a bug that bit me early on.”

Champion broadcaster Ray Warren famously called marble races at home as a child and it was a similar attraction that had mesmerised Manners from the beginning.

“I called my first race at pre-school and was obsessed by racing and the calling side of it,” Manners said.

“I went to school at St Patrick’s College, Shorncliffe, and had some really good teachers there who actually had a racing background and really helped.

“An English teacher introduced me to Alan Thomas (AT), who got me some work experience going to the broadcast box at Eagle Farm every Saturday.”

It was a ‘pinch yourself’ moment for manners as he found himself sitting between celebrated broadcasters Wayne Wilson, Alan Thomas and David Fowler.

“I got to work with three of the best in Brisbane and some legendary broadcasters between the ages of 14-17,” Manners said.

“I got the opportunity to practice into tape recorders and play them back to AT for him to listen to.

“He and David (Fowler) were both great mentors to me.”

By the end of high school, Manners was ready to disclose the skills and knowledge he had learnt from his mentors to the general public.

“After school AT suggested it was time to take the next step, so I began calling a few non-TAB races,” Manners said.

“I was fortunate at the time that tracks like Gatton, Beaudesert and Kilcoy—that are now full operation TAB standard—were on the outer and only racing non-TAB meetings, which gave me the opportunity I was after.

“Paul Dolan, who was great to me early on in my career, was more than happy to give me a race or two at his meetings.”

Manners continued to sharpen his teeth at country and non-TAB meetings before receiving an opportunity to call a handful of races at Ipswich every second or third week.

The opportunities continued to mount as Manners took up a position at RadioTAB, assisting Steve Hewlett in producing his radio show.

However, Manners’ already exciting resume went to a new level when he became a recipient of the John Tapp Race Calling Scholarship.

“I will never forget it. I was on my way to call an Ipswich greyhounds meeting when I was fortunate enough to get the call from ‘Tappy’ to say that I had won the scholarship,” Manners said.

“Matt Hill had become very sick in Beijing calling the rowing so the process of coming to Sydney was fast-tracked.

“I have been very fortunate that through AT, Wayne and David in Brisbane I had learnt a hell of a lot.”

Manners was one of four scholarship winners and was joined by fellow Queensland talents Josh Fleming and Luke Marlow.

“Matt, Josh, Luke and myself were all about 19 years of age and made the move away from family and friends,” he said.

“Sky Racing, Rod Gallegos, Graham McNeice, Murray Moore, Brendan Parnell and others were so good to us.

"They helped us through that tough early period moving away from home and started to give us more race meetings.

“I learnt so much early on in Sydney just through being at Sky and the talent of broadcasters in the building.”

Manners credits his outstanding mentors for not only shaping him and his success behind the binoculars, but also as a person.

“I am certainly more appreciative now of what goes into being a good broadcaster and what the general racegoer wants to hear,” Manners said.

“A clear call, accuracy and precision are areas I tried to always pride myself on.

“We aren’t machines. Whether it be a jockey, race caller, broadcaster or host, we aren’t machines and we will make mistakes but it is limiting those mistakes.

“AT once said to me, ‘it is only a mistake if you keep making it’, and that is am mentality I have kept with me throughout my career.”

Manners’ acquisition is just one of many exciting new changes set to revolutionise the Gold Coast Turf Club.

The club recently embarked on its course proper upgrade, with major developments including state-of-the-art broadcast lighting headlining the major facelift.

“One great thing about this turf club is that they don’t stop improving,” Manners said.

“They may look like they are just doing the course proper but they are doing a heap of other work outside of that. When it is fully finished it will look pretty spectacular.”

The $63 million redevelopment has pushed the Gold Coast Turf Club to work closely alongside the Sunshine Coast Turf Club in presenting the revamped Hollindale Stakes Raceday on May 6.

Six black-type races, including the Group 3 Gold Coast Guineas and Group 3 Ken Russell Memorial Classic, were run at Caloundra, headlined by the Group 2 Hollindale Stakes.

A $200,000 bonus will also be on offer should a horse win the Hollindale Stakes and go on to win the Group 1 Doomben Cup or Q22.