Eyewitness: the big moments of 2017 by those who were there

The year's high points through the eyes of the people closest to the action

Big Orange (left of front pair) battles Order Of St George to land last year's Gold CupCredit: Caroline Norris

Big Orange thrills his fans

Broadcaster Rupert Bell, older brother of trainer Michael
Royal Ascot, June 22

I had a number of work commitments on Gold Cup day, which started for me on the racecourse at 6am. For the next three hours I made regular contributions to Alan Brazil's Breakfast Show on talkSPORT Radio. I was due to commentate live on the Gold Cup for talkSPORT later in the day.

From 9am I got involved with Ascot TV's in-house broadcast; I was running around, talking to all sorts of people, after which I introduced the jockeys into the paddock. I also host every official press conference after the big races, and had to call two other races live that day in addition to the Gold Cup.

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Published on 30 December 2017inFeatures

Last updated 16:04, 30 December 2017

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