Legendary racecaller Brian Markovic can’t remember how many Cranbourne Cups he has called, but can remember how he got his nickname ‘Mr Bean’. Can you spot the similarity between Brian and Rowan Atkinson’s Mr Bean?By Glen Atwell
NOT many people have lost count of how many Cranbourne Cups they have attended, but racecaller Brian Markovic has an admirable excuse.
The familiar caller, nicknamed “Mr Bean”, said he has been to “too many Cranbourne Cups to remember” and holds the annual meeting in high regard.
“It’s up there with the best. It is a terrific event,” he said.
“The Mornington and Cranbourne Cup meetings are the best country cups. They are great days.”
Coming from a racecaller who called his first race at the Royal Melbourne Showgrounds, aged just 16, that’s a big wrap for organisers of Cranbourne’s biggest sporting event.
After 34 years and tens of thousands of races, Brian is still mystified by how he ended up with the nickname Mr Bean.
It all began when fellow racecaller Bryan Martin made an insightful observation.
“Bryan decided, one day, that I reminded him of Mr Bean and from that day on, it has stuck,” he said.
What bugs Brian is that he doesn’t even like Mr Bean.
“I’m not a big fan, but that doesn’t stop everyone else,” he laughed.
Brian recalls a visit to a primary school one day where the children were asked whether or not they thought he looked like Mr Bean.
“It was just before I was about to do a phantom race call and, of course, almost every kid stuck their hand up to vote I looked like Bean.”
“It really threw me off the call,” Brian laughed.
But Bean or not to Bean, Brian’s charismatic calls have long been the source of enjoyment for Cranbourne racegoers even for those who just backed a loser.
