HOLLYWOOD PARK : New Names Confusing, but Michael Wrona Obviously Knows What He’s Talking About

In his two months on the job as Hollywood Park’s latest race caller, Michael Wrona has dealt with the Criminal Type-Sunday Silence donnybrook, a dead-heat in a Grade I event, Bill Shoemaker’s first victory as a trainer, and an ugly spill that knocked Chris McCarron out of action for the meeting.

The 24-year-old Australian has been confronted with the identification of hundreds of new horses, many of them sporting bizarre names that defy either pronunciation or understanding. Wrona accepts on faith that Ten D.J.’s Jammin, Wishbone Offense and Do Right by Dudley actually mean something to his American audience. And he is not shy about asking for help when Muy Allegre, No Se Porque or Jo Jo Paz la Linea run.

But when Softshoe Sure Shot, Double Dollar Donn or Kulia I Ka Nuu turn up in the entries, he is reminded once again that racehorse owners have at least one thing in common the world over.

“I’m convinced they sometimes have it out for commentators,” Wrona said with a laugh.

As he nears the end of his first Hollywood Park run, Wrona is awash in rave reviews. Clearly, he benefited from a chaotic succession of five inexperienced announcers at the Hollywood post. But Wrona has stepped immediately into territory previously occupied only by South African-born Trevor Denman, the consummate commentator who handles the rest of the Southern California circuit.

Even Denman is impressed by Wrona.

“It’s very apparent the man knows what he’s talking about,” Denman said not long after Wrona made his debut in late May. “When he says a horse is moving well, you can be sure that’s exactly what’s happening. He only needs to Americanize his calls a bit more--just as I had to do at first.”

Wrona, who made his reputation calling races on an Australian radio network, concedes that Denman’s ascent in California was a key to his own quick success.

“No question about it, Trevor Denman paved the way for someone like me,” Wrona said earlier this week. “Acceptance would have come much harder without him.”

Denman’s role model as a race commentator was the venerable Australian, Bill Collins. Wrona, from a slightly younger generation, is a disciple of Australia’s current star commentator, John Tapp. It was Tapp who recommended Wrona to Hollywood Park management last spring.

And while Denman remains a master at wringing every ounce of drama from a horse race, Wrona is gaining a reputation for his ready wit. He laces his calls with sarcasm (a horse will be “conspicuously last”), colorful phrases (“hanging on like granny’s tooth”) and puns (“Breakfast Table is set”).

When a horse ran off to lead by a dozen lengths early in a turf race, Wrona said he was “going as fast as last week’s wages.” When McCarron and Kent Desormeaux went down in their June 3 spill, Wrona told the crowd that “two have bitten the dust.”

When two colts with similar names shadowed each other in a race last weekend, Wrona reacted with a personal aside: “And together at the back--I figured this would happen--it’s Thrice and Thrice Turned.”

“I’m always trying to think of new things to say,” Wrona said. “I’m finding I can get a bit of mileage out of phrases I may have used up back in Australia. But I have to be concerned about the meanings carrying over to a new audience.”

Though criticism has been rare, Wrona has received some flak for referring to a horse as “it” instead of using a personal pronoun.

“Fillies and colts run against one another all the time in Australia,” Wrona pointed out. “And nothing is more frustrating than to call a horse ‘he’ and then look down after the race and realize it was a mare. So, we just eliminated the chance of making an error.

“But the sexes don’t mix nearly as much here. And I’ve learned that American fans prefer their horses referred to as ‘he’ or ‘she.’ ”

Of all Wrona’s trademark comments, nothing jumps out more than his constant praise for the work of Hollywood Park starter Gary Brinson.

“Mr. Brinson can give himself a pat on the back for that one,” Wrona will say as a field breaks in a clean line.

“Interestingly enough, I haven’t yet had a chance to meet Gary face to face,” Wrona said. “But he called me up the other day and said he owes me a couple of beers for all the attention I’m giving him.

“Two reasons I do it, though. First, it became quite clear to me early on just how important the start is in American racing, with its emphasis on early speed and position. And second, I look at the starter as one of those unsung heroes around the track who get the blame when things go wrong but never get enough credit.”

Wrona considers the June 24 Gold Cup the highlight of his first Hollywood season. “It was by far the greatest race I’ve ever seen,” he said. “But my call was far from perfect.

“I got off to a very rough start and I knew it. When I got back to the first horse, I said to myself, ‘Let’s quit fumbling around and get on with it.’ After that, things started going well.

“Unfortunately, the real action began to unfold quite a bit earlier than in most races,” Wrona went on. “By the time Sunday Silence came to Criminal Type at the head of the stretch, my voice was already at the level I’d normally be using at the finish.”

Wrona and Hollywood Park are close to reaching an agreement that would keep him in the booth for at least three years. After consulting with a U.S. immigration attorney to review his work status, he will return home to Brisbane when the meet ends, then escape to the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales for a skiing vacation.

Horse Racing Notes

Michael Wrona will be featured on ESPN’s “Thoroughbred Digest” today at 3 p.m. “They taped the piece on Gold Cup day,” Wrona recalled. “And as if there weren’t pressure enough already, there was a horse in that day called Bucking Bird. That’s one I made sure I got right.”

Jockey Chris McCarron, who calls his progress “excellent” as he recovers from two broken legs and a broken arm, will join Brent Musburger and Dave Johnson for ABC’s “Wide World of Sports” telecast of the $500,000 Caesars International Handicap from Atlantic City, N.J., Saturday. The 1 3/16-mile turf event, which was run for 37 years as the United Nations Handicap, has attracted Steinlen, Alwahush, Pleasant Variety and Yankee Affair.

With Gary Stevens committed to riding Cinema Handicap winner Jovial, Eddie Delahoussaye will be on Silver Ending in the $200,000 Swaps Stakes Sunday.