'I don't take any notice of the cancer, I just carry on. I'm not frightened. I was a jump jockey, wasn't I'
Legendary fundraiser and former trainer Jack Berry opens up to Lee Mottershead
![Jack Berry, pictured last month at his home in Hunton near Bedale, North Yorkshire](/_next/image/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fs3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com%2Fprod-media-racingpost%2Fprod%2Fimages%2F169_1008%2F847b3befc66c-jack-berry-portrait.jpg&w=3840&q=75)
Given everything else going on in his day and life, a normal person might have justifiably declined the request for an interview. Fortunately Jack Berry is not now, nor ever has been, a normal person.
He stands at the front door of his North Yorkshire home with a beaming smile, an outstretched hand and an immediate promise to activate the kettle. Inside the house a painter issues warnings about wet walls as he carries out one of the few jobs not tackled with relish by Berry himself. Come the afternoon, there will be a visit to the home of Graham Lee for an inspection of three robotic grasscutters, while Willie Carson is at some point due to arrive before staying the night at Well Close Farm.
It will not be the first occasion Carson has been hosted by his friend of more than six decades. When working as a northern jump jockey in the late 1950s, Berry arranged for the promising young apprentice to spend some time with his then boss, trainer Harry Moore, in Doncaster. "I could see Willie was good and I said we should try to get that kid," says Berry. "He slept with me in my double bed that time. When we invited him to stay tonight, I promised he wouldn't have to do that again."
Read the full story
Read award-winning journalism from the best writers in racing, with exclusive news, interviews, columns, investigations, stable tours and subscriber-only emails.
Subscribe to unlock
- Racing Post digital newspaper (worth over £100 per month)
- Award-winning journalism from the best writers in racing
- Expert tips from the likes of Tom Segal and Paul Kealy
- Replays and results analysis from all UK and Irish racecourses
- Form study tools including the Pro Card and Horse Tracker
- Extensive archive of statistics covering horses, trainers, jockeys, owners, pedigree and sales data
Already a subscriber?Log in
Published on inThe Big Read
Last updated
- Sir Michael Stoute: 'I still enjoy it but probably not as much as I ever did'
- 'I'm single-handedly trying to bring up my father and it's not going well - I'm 22 and he's still 18'
- 'I don't need to chase rides any more. I've been there, done that, and there comes a time when you've got to let go'
- 'It was for more than the craic. It was for the money' - 50 years on, the Gay Future gambling coup is no less extraordinary
- 'I was well connected and I've never made any bones about it - but that opportunity only takes you so far'
- Sir Michael Stoute: 'I still enjoy it but probably not as much as I ever did'
- 'I'm single-handedly trying to bring up my father and it's not going well - I'm 22 and he's still 18'
- 'I don't need to chase rides any more. I've been there, done that, and there comes a time when you've got to let go'
- 'It was for more than the craic. It was for the money' - 50 years on, the Gay Future gambling coup is no less extraordinary
- 'I was well connected and I've never made any bones about it - but that opportunity only takes you so far'