Two of Europe’s racing stars, Yorkshire-born trainer and unceasing devotee to improving welfare Jack Berry, and the outstanding 14-times Group 1 winner Goldikova, are to be inducted into the QIPCO British Champions Series Hall of Fame, the official Hall of Fame for British Flat racing.
Both inductees, together with the Hall of Fame’s public vote winner Dubai Millennium, will be recognised with a special presentation moment on QIPCO British Champions Day at Ascot on Saturday 19 October.
Jack Berry MBE has been racing’s greatest fundraiser and is just the third person to be recognised within the Special Contributor category, following closely in the footsteps of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Khalid Abdullah.
Jack has been a pioneer for the Injured Jockeys’ Fund (IJF) since it was founded 60 years ago, and it was his vision that led to Oaksey House, in Lambourn, Berkshire, and Jack Berry House, in Malton, Yorkshire, being established in 2009 and 2015 respectively.
These outstanding rehabilitation and fitness centres have benefited countless jockeys, providing specialist treatment for physical and neurological injuries, plus respite accommodation for those receiving extended treatment together with their carers if required. They have hydrotherapy pools and state-of-the-art gyms and offer educational courses on fitness and nutrition. Peter O’Sullevan House in Newmarket (2019) and The Taunton South West Hub (2022) have also followed.
Berry, almost 87, remains the IJF’s vice-president and has raised incalculable amounts of money with his initiatives, energy and powers of persuasion. He was deservingly awarded an MBE in 1996 for charitable services and for services to horseracing.
Berry commented, “To be inducted into the Hall of Fame is a huge honour. I always knew I wanted to be a jockey from when I was five years old and now, at almost 87, to be added to such a list of horses and humans who have had such an impact on the sport is truly humbling.
“I’m certainly in good company; to even be mentioned in the same breath as Prince Khalid Abdullah, Sir Henry Cecil, The Queen and my old pal Lester Piggott, is some achievement and I couldn’t be prouder. I am very much looking forward to being at Ascot for QIPCO British Champions Day next month.”
Goldikova was a record-breaking mare who sprinkled her magic all over the world. Owned and bred by the Wertheimer brothers, Alain and Gérard, her exploits included winning a European record of 14 Group 1 races between 2008 and 2011.
Trained throughout her career by Freddy Head, in Chantilly, she will always be remembered for winning the Breeders’ Cup Mile three years in succession – the only horse to win the same race three times at America’s biggest meeting – but she also dazzled in her native country, France, as well as England.
For instance, she was a stunning six-length winner of the Prix Jacques Le Marois at Deauville in 2009 and her first two visits to British shores yielded victories in the Falmouth Stakes and Queen Anne at Royal Ascot. These days, both races form part of QIPCO British Champions Series.
By the end of her career, she had won 17 races and finished either second or third on another nine occasions. She had a tremendous constitution and was out of the frame just once, when making her seasonal reappearance at Longchamp in 2009.
Her owners, the Wertheimer brothers, via their Wertheimer & Frère Partnership, commented, “We are very touched and honored by the upcoming induction of our champion Goldikova into the Hall of Fame and this mark of distinction reflects the value of her career.
“Winner of 17 races including 14 Group 1s, she is the only one who has managed to win the Breeders Cup three times in a row. She also won two main English races on the mile in the Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot and the Falmouth Stakes at Newmarket and, of course, a legendary Jacques Le Marois in the summer 2009 at Deauville.
“Having her statue at our farm in France, a permanent photo at the main entrance of Deauville’s racetrack, an induction to the American Hall of Fame few years ago and now, the valuable one at the English Hall of Fame represent a lot to us, our team and all those involved in what she achieved.”
Rod Street, CEO of British Champions Series commented, “Along with Aidan O’Brien, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame at the QIPCO Guineas Festival earlier this year, the three further inductees into the Hall of Fame this year represent some of the finest qualities to be found in horses and people. Dubai Millennium, winner of the public vote for the Turn of the Century horse, was superb on the track and, despite a stud career that was tragically short, has stamped his mark on the breed as sire of Dubawi.
“The brilliant mare Goldikova showed such durability in winning 14 Group 1s – among them three consecutive victories in the Breeders’ Cup Mile, as well as her wins in the UK at Ascot and Newmarket. And Jack Berry’s contribution to our sport, as a trainer but even more significantly as one of the instigators of the Injured Jockeys’ Fund, for which his fundraising efforts have been nothing short of staggering, must be one of the greatest of the past century. I am very much looking forward to their inaugurations on QIPCO British Champions Day.”
