Jack Berry believes being inducted into the Qipco British Champions Series Hall of Fame is “as good as it gets”.
A former jockey and trainer, Berry’s legacy is now the excellent facility in Malton which bears his name where injured jockeys go to recuperate.
A driving force behind the Injured Jockeys Fund since its inception, Berry’s tireless fundraising earned him an MBE in 1996 and there has been plenty more money raised in the interim.
By his own admission he was just a “journeyman” jump jockey but he found his niche as a trainer of Flat horses.
Over 1,500 winners followed before he retired in 2000 but arguably his greatest feat achievement has been his input into Oaksey House in Lambourn, the forerunner to Jack Berry House in Malton.
“I was just a journeyman jump jockey, that’s all I was, have saddle will travel. I would go anywhere for a ride – I think I was a better trainer,” said Berry.
Berry found a niche in the two-year-old market, picking up bargain buys and running them in races they could win before moving them on.
“I would buy them cheap, get them very fit very early but at that time there were plenty of races for them, sellers and claimers. Races for horses that cost less than £5,000. If you got them ready, they could win,” he said.
“My thinking was if I had a two-year-old but you hadn’t won with it by June, then you weren’t going to win with it because the big guns would be out by then.
“It’s changed now but in those days every racecourse every day would have a two-year-old race which suited me.”
With so many horses passing through his yard in Cockerham, Lancashire, surely it would be difficult to pick out just one as a favourite? Not so.
“O I Oyston. I absolutely adored him,” he said. “I gave £2,600 for him for Oyston’s estate agents. I used to ride him every day. He used to cart all the other jockeys like Neale Doughty and Kevin Darley, but he was as good as gold for me. We treated him like a pet. If I’d been building a new house, I would have built a box for him so he could have come into the kitchen like Mr Ed!
“I kept him after he retired and he lived until he was 31. I had him since he was a four-year-old when his owner wanted to sell him. He won a six-furlong race at Carlisle, a seven-furlong race at Chester and then a two-mile hurdle at Cartmel, all in about a fortnight. He was the most versatile horse.”
Berry’s reputation was built around fast horses, with a handful faster than all the others.
“Palace House was fast. Mind Games always gets brought up but Bolshoi wasn’t bad, was he? Selhurstpark Flyer too, he won the Wokingham twice at Ascot in successive years,” said Berry.
“Everybody always says Mind Games and Palace House were my best. Thankfully we had quite a few decent sprinters. Those two were very unlucky as they never won a Group One yet they came up against some very good sprinters like Sheikh Albadou and Lochsong, real champions.”
Berry has devoted his life to fundraising for others since his retirement, but has always had an altruistic streak.
“I must have had an affinity for it, because I remember when I was about 20 and us jockeys played push ball against Leeds United in aid of a school for the deaf. We were like fish out of water. I’ve always tried to help where I could,” said Berry.
“We raised over £132,000 for International Spinal Research through one of our open days once.
“Jack Berry House will be my legacy. I’ve been lucky enough to win a few awards over the years and I’ve put them in there, hopefully they’ll be there forever. I’m very proud of it.
“Oaksey House was my vision in truth. I broke my knee once in five places and I was asked to go to a rehabilitation centre in Camden Town because the jockeys’ doctor had written me off, so I went with him. On the course there were four miners and a policeman but I was the only one striving to actually get better, the rest were happy to stay in there.
“It struck me what a place it was and I always felt it would be marvellous if jockeys could have their own centre. It took me three years to convince people we needed something like that, but I always had it in my mind that I wanted something up north as well.
“When I said to Lisa Hancock, chief executive of the Injured Jockeys Fund, I wanted one in the north she said ‘come on Jack we haven’t got over this one yet, you’ll have to raise some funds to get it going’. So we did, and people did all sorts, sponsored walks, skydiving, bungee jumps, sponsored swims, Red Shirt Night at Pontefract – we did all sorts.
“I also want to thank Sheikh Joaan of Al Shaqab Racing as he gave us the winnings of 20 of their best horses. I went to Royal Ascot to collect the cheque, which was for £480,000 and he put his arm around me and said he would top it up to half a million, which he did. A lot of people have helped build Jack Berry House.
“What a wonderful job they do at Oaksey House and Jack Berry House. I see the lads and lasses in some states when they get released from hospital, but the physios, doctors and nurses on site are incredible, they are absolutely brilliant.
“We have a wonderful ambassador in AP McCoy, our president. While he may have been the best ever, he’s also very aware of the work that goes on behind the scenes as he had his fair share of injuries. Tony also rode our last winner over jumps at Sedgefield – with a broken wrist!
“Back in 1996 I got an MBE from the Queen and I thought that was a great honour, I didn’t think anything could match that. But to be presented with this honour at Ascot on Champions Day is as good as it gets.
“What an honour this is. Jo (wife) and myself only started as stable lads, so to come this far is incredible. I could not be more grateful. To be in there with the likes of Sir Henry Cecil and my old mate Lester (Piggott), I can’t believe it.
“I’m not one to sit back in my chair and thinking about it, I’ll just keep chipping away and doing what I can.”
