Chris Barsby will make it one for the thumb calling this year’s Inter Dominion
by Adam Hamilton
Renowned Australian race caller Chris Barsby is in a reflective mood as he prepares to call his fifth Inter Dominion series.
The proud Queenslander, who starts his third series as the “chief” caller at Albion Park on July 4, is amazed at how far harness racing has come in his home state since he called his first official race at Redcliffe in 1999.
“Queensland was a bit of a dumping ground in some ways back then, where the horses would go from top states like Victoria and NSW when they weren’t good enough there anymore,” the 47-year-old Barsby said.
“Victoria was the pinnacle when I first started out, I watched in awe at all those great races, horses, and drivers back in the Moonee Valley days.”
It was the 2001 Brisbane series when a then 22-year-old Barsby called at his first Inter Dominion meeting.
“That was a great series,” he said. “The Kiwi horse Yulestar won the pacing final. David Fowler, one of the three biggest influences in my career, was the number one harness caller [in Queensland] at the time and he really wanted me to call a race on Grand Final Night and made it happen. I called the pacing consolation and there were stars like Safe And Sound and Tailamade Lombo in it, it was an amazing thrill.”
That series proved something of a fillip for Queensland harness racing and, maybe part by coincidence, stars like Be Good Johnny and Slipnslide emerged soon after. The great Blacks A Fake joined them soon after.
“That was the start of the change,” Barsby said. “In Be Good Johnny and Slipnslide, we had horses who weren’t just stars in Queensland, they could go and win big races anywhere.
“Blacks A Fake joined them and it was an incredible time for the sport up here.
“It was driven by the ‘McCarthy factor’ (John McCarthy and sons Luke and Andy at the time), along with Natalie Rasmussen and Grant Dixon, who had Blacks A Fake and so many other nice horses.
“There’s been ups and downs along the way, but that’s really where Queensland became a force.
“Kevin Seymour has been pivotal and then, in more recent years, David Brick came to Queensland as the harness manager at Racing Queensland and really changed the game with innovation, fresh ideas and new races.
“It’s incredible to think where we are up here now to back when I started.
“I’ll be honest, after I called that race at the 2001 Inter Dominion final night, and when I later took over from David Fowler as the number one caller up here, I was resigned to the fact I may never get to call an Inter Dominion, Queensland may never host another one.
“Now, here I am gearing up to call at my fifth and my third in the space of the past four years as the voice of the series. It’s incredibly exciting.
“I had a long wait to call my first series as the main caller [in 2023], but it was worth it getting to call Leap To Fame and Just Believe in my own backyard. That was very special.”
Fowler’s influence has been enormous, but it was another legendary Queensland race caller, the late Wayne Wilson, who first opened the door into racing and broadcasting for Barsby.
“I grew up in a sporting family and the radio would always be on,” Barsby said. “Wayne was the top caller at the time and I’d always hear him. He had such an iconic voice, one that could melt a radio. I was obsessed with him.
“Imagine the thrill when I reached out to him while still a kid at school in 1995 and he arranged for me to do work experience at RadioTAB with him. I’d follow him everywhere and just watch and learn from a master.
“With my passion for harness racing, Wayne steered me into David [Fowler] who shared that passion with me and got into calling and working with him for about 10 years on Bris31, which was a racing TV channel in Brisbane. The learnings were massive for me.
“When he moved into the thoroughbreds in 2010, I became the harness caller.”
Barsby had been identified as a star on the rise before that and in 2007 he took the “prize” for a racing industry scholarship by going to North America for two months where he met his other major career influence, the late Sam McKee.
“Andy McCarthy had just moved to the U.S. at the time and Noel Daley was there and they opened so many doors for me,” Barsby said.
Part of the scholarship was calling a race at The Meadowlands on the Woodrow Wilson card, the night before Hambletonian Day. McKee was in the race caller’s booth.
“I thought I was passionate, but Sam was in a league of his own and just the kindest, most supportive soul,” Barsby said.
“Wayne [Wilson] died in 2013 and Sam in 2017 and there’s not a day I walk into a racetrack where I don’t think about both of them and the influence they had on me.”
Barsby cites the privilege of calling the bulk of the careers of two of Down Under’s all-time greatest pacers, Blacks A Fake and Leap To Fame, as highlights of his time behind the microphone.
But he winces at the thought of having to split them.
“I’m completely torn there,” he said. “Blacks A Fake has always been No. 1, but I’m aware how special Leap To Fame is every time I call him now. It’s just so hard to compare them from different eras.
“I go back to Blacks A Fake winning a Hunter Cup from a 30-meter handicap and beating great horses like Smoken Up and Divisive, but then you see the incredible things Leap To Fame does in the big races everywhere.”
Barsby suspected Leap To Fame was something special towards the end of his 2-year-old season, built an even bigger opinion when he won three major Derbys (NSW, Queensland, and Victoria at three), but said it was at 4 he first declared him a champion.
“They weren’t his biggest wins, but the way he won the Patrons Purse at Redcliffe and then his first Sunshine Sprint after that at Albion Park, horses can’t do what he did in those races, especially in the sectional times he ran,” he said. “For everything he’s done since, they’re still two of his most special performances, I think.
“I’d love to see the industry here do even more to promote Leap To Fame. We should be doing everything we can to sell a rare horse like him to the public.”
Such is the depth of this Queensland Constellations Carnival, Barsby is looking forward to lots more than just Leap To Fame’s quest for a third Inter Dominion title.
“The Rising Sun (July 4) shapes as the race of the Carnival,” he said. “The race has grown so quickly in the five years it’s been run. The depth of talent is amazing this year and I love that twist where the winner gets a wildcard into the Inter Dominion final. It’s going to be an unbelievable race.
“I’d love Captains Mistress to win the Rising Sun because I think she’d go on and add so much x factor to the Inter Dominion final.”
Supporting Barsby through another huge carnival will be his wife, Kylie, and children Cheslea [14] and Bryce, who turns 11 during the series.
“They have always been and continue to be an amazing support,” he said. “I’ve got two kids, but Chelsea said it’s like I’ve got three because I love Leap To Fame so much.
“Bryce is mad on the horses, but he’s probably more into the thoroughbreds than the harness.”
The support has been crucial as Barsby has dealt with Type 1 Diabetes since he was 13.
“It’s constant, four needles a day and that’s a challenge,” he said. “You have your ups and downs, your good and bad days.
“That’s where the support and understanding is so important.
“I’d like to think I’m an example to show you can still lead a normal life despite a challenge like Diabetes, but you just have to be a bit more responsible.”
BARSBY’S INTER DOMINION “BIG FIVE”
Inter Dominion Pacing Series
1. Leap To Fame — Picks himself going for a third crown.
2. The Janitor — Keeps getting close to Leap To Fame. Continues to evolve into an outstanding pacer.
3. Captains Mistress — She’s here with an asterisk because she’ll need to win the Rising Sun to get that golden ticket into the [Inter Dominion] final. She’s such a special talent, if she does, she will bring serious x factor.
4. Don Hugo — As much for the Luke McCarthy factor as the horse. Nobody drives Albion Park better than Luke and we know he loves driving here, especially in big races.
5. Dangerous — He’s my wildcard for the series. Always looked like a lovely horse in the making with [trainer] Shane Sanderson and joins Jason Grimson for this series. If Jason can get that bit extra like he has from so many other horses, he could really make his presence felt.
INTER DOMINION TROTTING SERIES
1. Gus — It’s been great watching the evolution of this trotter. It feels like the penny has finally dropped and what he did with those two big wins at [New Zealand] Cup Week last November was special. Home track advantage and clearly the one to beat.
2. Rocknwithattitiude — She’s a terrific mare and rates so highly mainly because of her fantastic gate speed. She’s racing well and has performed well at the track before.
3. Susan Is Her Name — She brings the x factor in the trotting series. She’s just got so much speed and talent. If she can stay sound and race to her best through the series, she is capable of anything.
4. Keayang Stuka — Already been placed in an Inter Dominion final [in 2024]. Quick beginner back in form.
5. Arcee Phoenix — The defending champion who showed signs of getting back to his best with a big Melton run last Saturday. Class.
