Before they ever stood before the Racing WA TV cameras, the team members were children riding trackwork, listening to Racing Radio with their grandparents, working in stables, studying the form, and dreaming of calling races. Their individual journeys into racing are vastly different, yet a shared passion unites them.

For Tess Daly, Scott Embry, Mathew French, Alex Vlahos, Amelia Hall, Michael Heaton, and Lochie Taylor, racing is not simply a sport they cover; it is an intrinsic part of who they are.

Now, with five consecutive Saturdays of The Pinnacles set to take centre stage at Ascot Racecourse, the Racing WA TV team is preparing to showcase the very best of Western Australian thoroughbred racing.

The series will feature close to $11 million in prizemoney, three Group 1 races, and 16 black-type contests, attracting some of Australia’s leading thoroughbred talent to Perth.

Yet, behind the major races, large crowds, and prominent names are the people and stories that have always made racing a special pursuit.

Daly’s deep connection to racing is particularly evident. Born into the industry, she grew up around horses trained by her father, who has been a trainer for over fifty years. Her mother was a talented horsewoman and trackwork rider, and Daly herself began riding racehorses at around the age of 11.

Some of her most cherished childhood memories involve travelling to race meetings in the truck with her dad, occasionally using a convenient bout of ‘horse flu’ as an excuse to miss school.

Years later, after accumulating experience as a clerk of the course, trackwork rider, stable foreperson, racing manager, and in several other industry roles, she now finds herself on the other side of the lens at Ascot.

“The five weeks of The Pinnacles in Perth truly lives up to its name, the pinnacle of racing here in the west,” Daly said. “Come Railway Stakes Day, the on-course feeling is like no other, the crowd is super, the horses look brilliant and the competitive racing is goosebump worthy.”

Family is also a cornerstone of Hall’s relationship with racing. She recalls being the sole companion to her father at Ascot for the 2019 Perth Cup, witnessing Star Exhibit’s surprise $31 victory.

“The feeling after a big win in the mounting yard is unmatched, and I was so happy I got to share that moment with him,” Hall said.

These formative experiences have significantly shaped her approach to her current role in racing media.

“I love being part of the build-up to a big race and helping create and feel that excitement build,” Hall explained. “I also love interviewing people after a big win and getting to see the emotion that comes with those moments.”

For Embry, racing’s origins trace back to school holidays spent visiting his grandfather, Gordy, in Geraldton. Racing Radio was a constant soundtrack, and summer trips to the Geraldton races became a family routine.

Years later, following extensive travel throughout WA with Racing WA TV, his appreciation for what the sport means to its participants has only deepened.

“I’ve seen firsthand the joy that owning, training, riding, backing or simply following a horse can bring,” Embry stated. “There’s so much raw emotion in racing. To some people, winning an Esperance maiden is just as satisfying as winning a Perth Cup.”

This sentiment lies at the core of the Racing WA TV coverage, which spans from country meetings hundreds of kilometres from Perth to major Group 1 events at Ascot, featuring fields ranging from six to sixteen horses.

Embry particularly enjoys “being able to showcase every inch of WA, from a six-horse race at Kununurra to a 16-horse Group One at Ascot.”

Vlahos also shares a strong connection to WA’s regional racing scene. His initial industry involvement came working for trainer Trevor Andrews as a 16-year-old during his school holidays, but his ambition to become a racecaller stretched back even further.

After stepping away from calling for several years, Vlahos decided to pursue his childhood dream again. His first race call at Norseman involved only a three-horse field, but its significance was not related to the size or quality of the race; it was about him finally achieving his goal.

Today, his work takes him to tracks across WA, including Kununurra, Carnarvon, and Esperance.

“The complete focus on WA,” Vlahos said of his appreciation for Racing WA TV. “It highlights everything that is positive about racing in our state. From the big days to the smaller clubs and communities. Also, the crew.”

French’s introduction to the sport came through his family’s generations-long involvement, with his grandfather and great-grandfather both being trainers. His first racing job was as a valet in the jockeys’ room for Steven Parnham.

Some of his earliest memories involve attending races with his father, observing the horses parade and the activity in the bookmakers’ ring.

Later, owning a small share in a horse with his family provided an additional perspective; the share was so inexpensive that, he jokes, the Uber fare to the track cost more than the horse itself. The mare went on to win five races.

These experiences eventually developed into a deeper fascination with form and analysis, but the opportunity to experience WA racing in all its different forms remains one of his favourite aspects of the job.

“It provides a chance to get out to so many regional areas and racecourses,” French commented. “Being able to cover a sport we all love with great people in front and behind the camera.”

Heaton’s racing story began more than 500 kilometres from Ascot in Kalgoorlie. He grew up on a property used by trainers, rode equestrian throughout his school years, and later moved into owner communications and jockey management before studying journalism and pursuing racing media.

He still enjoys returning to Kalgoorlie, but he admits there is something distinct about Ascot when WA’s major races arrive.

“It’s WA racing headquarters with so much history, the best atmosphere, the biggest crowds and it’s where the best horses race at the best time of the year,” Heaton stated.

Taylor also understands the power of those major occasions. Witnessing Winx’s victory in the 2017 Cox Plate left him fascinated by the ability of a race lasting little more than two minutes to capture the attention of people around the world.

Closer to home, he has since covered moments etched into WA racing history. Among them was Dom To Shoot’s Northerly Stakes victory, when Jarrad Noske defeated James McDonald in a photo finish to deliver Noske and trainers Sean and Jake Casey their maiden Group 1 success.

What Taylor enjoys most about Racing WA TV, however, is the collective passion behind the team.

“The passion all of my co-workers have for WA racing,” Taylor said. “They all have an incredible understanding and knowledge for racing in our state and I think that comes across in the broadcast.”

This collective expertise will be tested over five significant Saturdays at Ascot.

The Pinnacles series begins with the $500,000 Placid Ark Stakes, building rapidly into the Group 1 Railway Stakes, Winterbottom Stakes, and Northerly Stakes before concluding with the $1.5 million Gold Rush.

And there is one race in particular generating considerable discussion among the Racing WA TV team.

The Northerly Stakes.

Vlahos labelled it “the race of the carnival,” with the prospect of Cosmic Crusader, Buckaroo, Western Empire, and King of Light meeting at weight-for-age, potentially alongside some of WA’s emerging three-year-olds.

French, Hall, Heaton, and Taylor also have the Northerly Stakes circled.

“Seeing the potential return of Cox Plate winner Cosmic Crusader in his own backyard to defend his title,” Taylor said. “It doesn’t get any better than that.”

Daly is looking in another direction.

“The Winterbottom continues to take the cake for mine,” she stated. “The most competitive sprinters we have here locally and the intrigue of our eastern state raiders. Will it be Overpass again? Or can one of our star locals gain Group 1 glory?”

For a team that spends so much time around racing, it is telling that their favourite Pinnacles memories are rarely just about who won.

They remember the people, the crowds, and the emotion surrounding the events. Embry recalls Inspirational Girl winning the 2020 Railway Stakes and the Ascot crowd chanting “Pikey” as William Pike returned to the mounting yard.

Vlahos remembers the anticipation surrounding unbeaten sprinter Barakey’s 2012 Winterbottom Stakes triumph and the huge crowd celebrating Playing God’s Kingston Town Classic victory two years earlier.

Heaton recalls the 2014 Super Saturday double of Magnifisio in the Winterbottom and Elite Belle in the Railway Stakes.

French poses a much simpler question: “Will anything beat being on course for Munhamek?”

Hall remembers the extraordinary scenes surrounding Damien Oliver’s farewell on Gold Rush Day.

For Daly, Jigsaw’s Quokka triumph stands out.

Different horses. Different races. Different reasons. But the same underlying emotion.

That is ultimately what seven people with very different journeys into the sport will be looking for when the gates open at Ascot.

For Daly, it is the opportunity to connect with participants and tell the stories behind what happens on the track. “Sharing stories of hardship, luck, or even just all positives, being able to display that to the public is a very special feeling that I’ll forever be grateful to be a part of,” she said.

For Vlahos, it is showcasing everything positive about racing in WA. For Embry, it is recognising that the emotions of racing aren’t reserved for Group 1 day.

And for Taylor, it is working alongside people who understand and genuinely care about the sport they are covering.

Five Saturdays. Three Group 1s. Almost $11 million in prizemoney. Some of Australia’s best thoroughbreds and some of the biggest moments on the WA racing calendar are coming.

The Racing WA TV team will be there for all of it, telling the stories of a sport that has already given each of them plenty of their own.

All TABtouch Pinnacles race days will be broadcast live and free on Racing WA’s 7plus channel and Racing.com, with coverage also available on SKY Racing and SEN. The Railway Stakes, Winterbottom Stakes, Northerly Stakes and Gold Rush races will also be broadcast on 7two.

When looking at the upcoming racing action, exploring the betting markets for the race at Australian betting sites could provide an added layer of interest.