Death of Jonathan Neesom: “He touched far more people than he realised"

The much loved and respected Racing TV presenter Jonathan Neesom has died. Our great friend and colleague had been a regular face on the channel since it was founded 20 years ago.

He has recently been absent from screens after a short illness. He died, aged 72, on Tuesday.

Jonathan’s wit, wisdom and passion for horse racing, particularly over Jumps, shone through on the smallest and biggest of stages.

He was a regularly a pivotal player in the channel’s annual output of the Cheltenham Festival but he also adored bread-and-butter days at less heralded venues.

There was never a dull moment in his company with his forthright opinions, experience and knowledge of the formbook shining through. 

He also had a penchant for the grass roots of the sport and had unbridled enthusiasm for the point-to-point scene and hunter chases. 

He had a long background in racing journalism before Racing TV, working  at the first iteration of At The Races as well as in various print roles.

He was not always a pundit, either. During the long summer months, when his jumping role took a back seat, he would often do shifts as an excellent voice-over.

Jonathan, who was scrupulously well-prepared for every race meeting he attended, was extremely popular among his colleagues.

One of those he worked most often alongside was Lydia Hislop, who said: “It’s impossible to encapsulate Jonathan in a few words. Try, he would say - and don’t stuff it up . . .

“He touched far more people than he realised, and in his final weeks he was overwhelmed by the kind messages he received from so many. They gave him great comfort.

“For fans of this sport, particularly Jump racing, he embodied their passion - an incredibly rare quality to be able to convey. He had that; it came naturally.

“I know this not just because I’ve spent more than 20 happy years standing beside him, revelling in his pithy articulation of exactly what we should be talking about, but also because so many people - even those he didn’t know - have been in touch to ask after him in recent months. Like all of us, they were missing him.

“His humour, his principles and every single one of his infuriatingly familiar foibles are what I shall miss most. I am so grateful for the time I spent with him and to have been able to call him my good friend.”

Fellow Racing TV pundit Eddie Fremantle's friendship with Jonathan went back to their days working at the Sporting Life newspaper.

"Jonathan and I knew each other for more than 30 years," he said. "He was a continuous inspiration to me, from advice about trivial racing stuff to more important life matters. Avuncular and erudite, with a marvellous, acerbic sense of humour, you’d never have guessed he had been a school teacher earlier in life - oh yes - you would!

"We shared many train journeys to and from the races, discussing the card or doing The Times crossword, listening for the trolley man Alan coming round with his call of ‘teas, coffees, light refreshments’ on the way back from Plumpton. Discussions would often include a visit to a pub.

"And many were the times Jonathan drove me to the racecourse - nearly every Monday to Windsor for years. He was a passenger of mine once - to Wincanton - and he gave me the sack. ‘I’ll drive from now on, I think’, and he did. That was a thing with him, if he didn’t like something, it wouldn’t happen again.

"Like so many of us, his hobby became his job and he was a racing workaholic. Spotlights, close-up, television punditry and his work on the point-to-point form didn’t leave him much time for anything else although he loved to relax with a pint of Ram and Special in his local.

"He was an avid follower of Plymouth Argyle and, even though he knew his time was up, it would have distressed him considerably had they been relegated in May. It would have given him a late, small piece of joy that they escaped. 

"As a friend and colleague, he gave me so many hours and days of joy. He will be so very much missed."

Also remembering Jonathan's ability to get to the heart of any matter was Racing TV presenter Nick Luck, who said: "If this went on too long, Jonathan would double underline in red and mark it "waffle".

"Although he ultimately followed his passion, the teacher never left him. And the best kind of teacher - sardonic and kind in equal measure. When someone dies, it is often said they didn't suffer fools. Jonathan set the bar a bit higher, but delighted in who and what he liked and loved.

"For the first few years of Racing UK, we shared thousands of miles in the car. These journeys were part last-minute form study (me), part therapy, part laugh-out-loud at anything absurd, smutty or juvenile. They also followed meticulous routine: same pick-up time, same petrol station, same marker points to tell whether we were on time, same roadside cafe for breakfast. Same gag - every time - about Mick Sage's driving school in Market Rasen. 

"We would take it in turns to operate the car, but Jonathan always drove. 

"He liked to supervise, but he liked to look after you. He always wanted to know you were okay, always with an instinct for anything off-kilter. 

"For 19 years, four of us shared a house during the Cheltenham Festival. Jonathan's illness meant he wasn't with us this year, and our deep sense of loss that week took us all by surprise - it just wasn't the same. And it won't be. 

"I'll hardly be the only person who observes that Jonathan would want no fuss, but - as he might have said - sod that."