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Exclusive with Stuart Shenton who opens up in a tell all interview
https://m.facebook.com/watch/?v=485276416189137
If anyone has some video of Stuart’s calls, please feel free to share your links

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  • JayJayJayJay    7,629 posts
    Far out, was like watching a Stevie Wright interview, both absolute stars in their careers. Thanks for posting. Stewie was right up there. I learnt something watching it (aside from the obvious).....his first trot call at Cunderdin. I was there, winner of the race Easy Guy, lovely little horse by Gyro for Jack Jones driven by Lindsay Froyland.
  • spinkingspinking    3,737 posts
    Agree with JJ, thanks for putting up. Was at the Hyde Park that day and Stew said to me most of all these people here wanted to be my friend now most of them won’t even talk to me. Always liked the bloke
  • bookieloverbookielover    2,623 posts
    edited March 2021
    Thank you for posting Qonradg, 

    I loved every second of that. A tragic tale of the rise and fall of a great caller and the toll it has taken on him professionally and personally.

    I remember that he used to say something like, they jump from the barriers and hit terra firma. I'm sure others will have a better memory than mine.

    I would like to know what happened to his wife, and mainly his kids, and if there has been any communication between them and Stuart in the last 5 years or so.

    I didn't agree with his opinion of Bill Collins, or that Ken Howard was the best caller. he was good, but, in my opinion, not the best. As I have written previously, Bill was a great friend, and a lovely bloke to boot. 

    My personal relationship with him aside, I am sure that everyone who listened to Bill  in Melbourne and around Australia, would say that he was a great caller.

    He gained the title accurate one, because if it was a close finish and you were listening to Bert Bryant who would not always have a pick as to who had won, you flicked the station to Collins who would have a go, and was always right.

    However, his real artistry lay in the fact that Collins was a great reader of a race, and whereas Bryant would just run through the field, Collins would tell you exactly how your horse was travelling in the run, and we all knew 600 from home, if we were a chance of a collect or not.

    Because we hear and read about their susceptibility to taking drugs, every AFL footballer in particular, and other professional sportspeople in general, should be made to watch that interview, from beginning to end. 

    They may not know anything about racing, but they should be able to understand about the rise and tremendous fall of a man who had it all, and the terrible loss of his family due to his addiction.


    freodockers likes this post.

  • SLIPPERGOLDENSLIPPERGOLDEN    7,741 posts
    edited March 2021
    Bookie who was the 70s and early 80s Victorian racecaller who called country races and would call out poor rides including 'lack of interest' rides DURING and after races. It was worth listening him call races just for that alone. Brian somebody I think.... Not Bryan Martin.

    bookielover likes this post.

  • curmudgeoncurmudgeon    2,417 posts
    edited March 2021

    Bookie who was the 70s and early 80s Victorian racecaller who called country races and would call out poor rides including 'lack of interest' rides DURING and after races. It was worth listening him call races just for that alone. Brian somebody I think.... Not Bryan Martin.

    Brian Markovic ? Part owned BlueEagle Vic Pacing Derby winner

  • SLIPPERGOLDENSLIPPERGOLDEN    7,741 posts
    I don't think so. The other Brian that springs to mind is Blackwell. Not totally certain now that it is a Brian?
  • thefalconthefalcon    19,949 posts

    what a poignant interview. i know stuart quite well and have never heard him speak so openly. it is a wasted life, one he truly regrets. i'll see him in the next week or so.
    i know one of his daughters is happily married to steven parnham.

    did you notice the disclosure at the end of the interview....nothing to do with perth racing or rwwa.
    anybody know who conducted the interview?

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  • savethegamesavethegame    2,786 posts
    Stuart great caller,,he would call out,a horse or rider who had done absolutely nothing, ziltch ,nought in the run.

    But Slip you maybe thinking of Rabbits Warren he use to give the best sprays especially Female riders if they got beat on a odds-on favourite country. N.S.W. back when ------Love  you are killing me & punters,you should be in the kitchen doing the dishes, instead of getting beaten on odds on favourites--- Heard that one a few times..

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  • bookieloverbookielover    2,623 posts

    I don't think so. The other Brian that springs to mind is Blackwell. Not totally certain now that it is a Brian?

    There was as you say, Brian Blackmore, nice bloke. Unfortunately died too young from the effects of diabetes. 

    You might be thinking of Ray Benson, who would have a go at bad rides and obviously dead ones. 

    His favourite saying was it will keep. This earned him the nickname the preserver. He’d always say it when he felt he’d seen one, how do we say it now, not being allowed to run on its merits.

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  • SLIPPERGOLDENSLIPPERGOLDEN    7,741 posts
    Yes bookie I think it was Ray Benson and I recall the saying you quoted. I knew there was the letter B in there somewhere  ;))
  • psychopsycho    652 posts
    Loved Stuarts calls of races and loved his funny ways, but what the hell was he drinking in this !!! I have done around 40 years of mental health nursing and he does not look good. Hoping his family are forgiving him whether he deserves it or not because at the end of the day you only have one mother and one one father and no matter what they do they bought you here. Forever forgive forgive forever

    thefalcon likes this post.

  • spinkingspinking    3,737 posts
    Ask him who done the interview when you see him Falc. And find out if he has a local TAB. And if so can you pm it to me
  • psychopsycho    652 posts
    If I can just add to my previous post about all things living, as much experience as I had gone thru with life and death I had decided that when my mother was going to die I was not going to watch her take her last breath as that would be too traumatic. This now is my most regrettable moment ever to think that she took her last breath and she was on her own. She passed nearly 22 years ago and I am still sick at the thought of what she had done for my family, the shocking childhood she had, the things she saw that no child should ever see. Born in Budapest 1927 and only 12 when WW2 broke out she fled Hungary with her family and finally got on a boat in 1949 arriving in OZ in 1950 she made Australia home, rarely missed a race meeting in the city. Guess what I am trying to say thru this is EVERYONE is human and EVERYONE deserves respect no matter what they have done in their life. I have now even confused myself with this post as my mother always brings out the tears, JUST FUKIN LOVE EVERYONE we all have problems we all have lives and the person next to you could just be your saviour GOOD NIGHT be safe

  • spinkingspinking    3,737 posts
    Every chance it’s water Psycho . Maybe the way he looks can be put down to the years of abuse he talks about. Would imagine Heroine not being kind to your long term health and looks . As for forgiveness he sounds like the only ones he wants it from is by those closest to him . As it should be . He does not need our forgiveness. Whe have nothing to forgive him . Another talented individual who lost his way due to addiction. The difference being thanks to that interview he has had the balls to come out and give us his side of the story . Not for us to give judgment
  • LooksLikeTroubleLooksLikeTrouble    134 posts
    Huge talent destroyed by fkn drugs . He was one of the best racecallers
  • paraleticparaletic    3,750 posts
    Is he still banned from racetracks? If so what a truly despicable organisation rwwa is. I would love to hear him call up north and if he wants to he should be given the opportunity. We all make mistakes and nobody is perfect.

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  • ThunderstruckThunderstruck    7,676 posts
    He is allowed back now Para, but yes 17 years was a big pile of BS and overkill..way too hucking farsh.

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  • ThunderstruckThunderstruck    7,676 posts
    edited March 2021
    psycho said:

    If I can just add to my previous post about all things living, as much experience as I had gone thru with life and death I had decided that when my mother was going to die I was not going to watch her take her last breath as that would be too traumatic. This now is my most regrettable moment ever to think that she took her last breath and she was on her own. She passed nearly 22 years ago and I am still sick at the thought of what she had done for my family, the shocking childhood she had, the things she saw that no child should ever see. Born in Budapest 1927 and only 12 when WW2 broke out she fled Hungary with her family and finally got on a boat in 1949 arriving in OZ in 1950 she made Australia home, rarely missed a race meeting in the city. Guess what I am trying to say thru this is EVERYONE is human and EVERYONE deserves respect no matter what they have done in their life. I have now even confused myself with this post as my mother always brings out the tears, JUST FUKIN LOVE EVERYONE we all have problems we all have lives and the person next to you could just be your saviour GOOD NIGHT be safe


    Fantastic post champ ;)
  • spinkingspinking    3,737 posts
    Stewie done the crime but also done the time. It makes the powers to be look bad in the sense they could have been seen as doing something very positive by allowing him to Call up north. They spend millions on rehousing horses. But have denied a human a second chance at some sort of normality in a life by the person living it making the admission he has made a terrible mistake.it could have been a positive for them and who knows, if he agreed they could have sent Stew around to schools etc to warn young kids on the perilous path in life drugs will take you.

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  • bookieloverbookielover    2,623 posts
    Some great posts here.

    Psycho, my mum passed away in November. We were told by her specialist in the ICU that she only had a few hours to live, so we sat by her bedside, and we spoke to her and she was very lucid and spoke to us, until the morphine took over and speaking for her became harder as she became very drowsy. 

    We were able to speak to each other, until about 15 minutes before she passed away peacefully. And yes, we did see her take her last breath, something that will stay with me always. Frankly, I feel really privileged to have been able to do that. That is why I really feel for you that you took the decision not to do so, but my advice is, don't dwell on it. You certainly would not have been the only person to have made that decision. Just enjoy the good memories that you have of her, and how much she enriched your life.


    Beautifully said, Spinking. 

    What is it with racing authorities, that they are unable to forgive a person for their own weaknesses, or their mistakes. They, the racing authorities, are all tarred with the same brush, particularly, where, and when, the punishment far exceeds the crime.

    Shenton stuffed himself, not RWWA, not the punters, or trainers or jockeys or owners, and not even his employer. They were able to replace him in a heartbeat.  

    By doing so, he lost his family and his career. He went to jail. However, once he was released, i.e. did the crime, did the time, the RWWA should have let him back, and allowed him to work. What sort of an anal orifice organisation, denies a person who has paid what some would even call the ultimate price, their right to earn a living? You all know the answer.

    We once employed a heroine addict at our business. We only found out about the addiction, when I asked him why he was walking around all day, with a bottle of water. In those days, there was no bottled water. He was using an empty lemonade bottle which he filled with water, and was  constantly drinking it. 

    He then told me he was an addict, and he needed to drink the water which depressed the craving for the drug. He only worked for us for around ten days and didn't turn up one day. I never saw him again.

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  • GilgameshGilgamesh    4,718 posts
    This footage would be something that would be great to show to the young apprentices coming through the ranks every year.

    spinking likes this post.

  • spinkingspinking    3,737 posts
    Geez funny thing in life how one mans spiral into addiction and the remorse he feels for his loved ones  by the carnage caused by it has brought out the empathy( that should be shown by all of us) by a bunch of blokes on a racing forum. I dont know what happens to us when we leave here. But i reckon i do know this that PSYCHO  wherever your mum dwels now she would still having nothing but love honour and respect  for you her son . Whether you wre by her side or not at that time There is nothing greater than the love between a mother and her child . only matched by the same as the father and child . I have the  little funeral card of both my parents on my office window . I look at them every day . Now onto the races Billy aint that silly Pinjy today 
  • thefalconthefalcon    19,949 posts
    not only apprentices, gilgamesh, what about every high school...?

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  • loose_gooseloose_goose    2,069 posts
    spinking said:

    Stewie done the crime but also done the time. It makes the powers to be look bad in the sense they could have been seen as doing something very positive by allowing him to Call up north. They spend millions on rehousing horses. But have denied a human a second chance at some sort of normality in a life by the person living it making the admission he has made a terrible mistake.it could have been a positive for them and who knows, if he agreed they could have sent Stew around to schools etc to warn young kids on the perilous path in life drugs will take you.

    Penalised by the powers for a long long time for inflicting pain on himself, but someone who inflicted pain on an animal under his care can come back in 18 months or so. This is not right.

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  • SLIPPERGOLDENSLIPPERGOLDEN    7,741 posts
    I recall Stuart Shenton's brother also had drug issues and lost his job on radio.

    Interesting that Shenton stated a high regard for Raymond Miller. That was a surprise. 
  • thefalconthefalcon    19,949 posts
    those comments are competely unwarranted, slip....we all thought better of you.
  • FlandersFlanders    1,197 posts
    thefalcon said:

    those comments are competely unwarranted, slip....we all thought better of you.


    Cmon Falc this is a forum for discussion

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  • thefalconthefalcon    19,949 posts
    jeez flanders old mate the guys image has been tarnished enough, we need a bit of brasso to brighten it up, not bring up his family and his mate.
  • SLIPPERGOLDENSLIPPERGOLDEN    7,741 posts
    Falcon I don't understand your reaction. There was no malice intended with those comments. 
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