Little in common, but a lot which was similar



Jack Styring where he seemed most
 at home - behind the microphone
 at a race meeting.

Jack Styring and I have nothing in common, but we do have one similarity and because of that historic connection I have an odd admiration for the 82-year-old race caller.The Octogenarian called his first horse race at the Echuca trots in 1950 and about 14 years later, as a cadet journalist I covered my first race meeting, at Echuca.I continued covering gallops and trots meetings at Echuca, and race meetings at Moama and Gunbower, and so our lives regularly crossed, mainly at the Moama meetings.Jack, now retired from calling faces a significant change as he once called more than 100 meetings a year at which the famous Styring patter could be heard.Arriving at the track it was always comforting to hear Jack’s voice over the public address system as the unique clip of his voice and famous phrases told you this was country racing as it was meant to be.Jack was polished in every sense, from his preparation through to his appearance and the total package was the epitome of the “racing gentleman”. Background and research was obviously important for Jack and no doubt his debut on New Year’s Day 1950 challenged his skills as that first race at the Echuca trots involved 29 horses and as there was no caller’s booth, he had to use the public stand.Styring, now 82, became famous, at least among racing enthusiasts, for his phrases such as, ''baring his molars to the breeze'' and ''he's pulling like a Collins Street dentist''.For me, a day at the races didn’t seem complete until Jack had used one of his colourful phrases making what might have been a somewhat tawdry race seem exiciting. His lines were so different and unique that he was the AFL’s Dennis Cometti of country horse racing.Styring called 60 consecutive Gunbower Cups at Gunbower, near Echuca, and more than 30 annual meetings each at Hanging Rock and Avoca, and through his Racing Topics website about horse racing, he keeps his intimate connection with racing alive.A “Jack Styring Appreciation Society” has been established on facebook, something about which Jack would simply say: “Thank-you” and smile.