Building Year For Progressive Berry

Fran Berry was not exactly the typical Irish rider setting off for pastures new when his path took him to Britain in 2016. Hardly some wide-eyed teenager with his possessions in a handkerchief attempting to catch a break away from the competitive domestic circuit, he was a jockey with an international following and a regular position in the top four throughout this century.

There was an itch which needed scratching, which explains why he decided to uproot his wife Laura and toddler son Jordan from Kildare for a fresh start in Berkshire and a position with Ralph Beckett.

“The job at Ralph's came up as I was looking to leave Ireland,” he explains. “The July before I moved over I'd ridden my 1000th winner in Ireland. It had been in my head for a while that I'd done five or six winters in Japan, that's where I was basically basing my year around, but unfortunately for me they had changed the criteria to get in. Really due to the success of Mirco Demuro and Christophe Lemaire, it went from having to be top five in Ireland to qualify for a licence to be top two and perhaps ride a Longines G1 winner during the year as well. Realistically that wasn't going to happen and I just felt, all in all, I couldn't do a lot more there. At 35 years of age it was now or never.”

The partnership began well, with a Royal Ascot strike by Kinema (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) in the Duke Of Edinburgh H. and Beckett reaching a career-best total of 101. However, the following summer an announcement was made that the agreement had been terminated by 'mutual consent' and that Berry was freelance. “When myself and Ralph didn't work out it was mid-season,” he says. “You're starting from scratch in a new country, after only coming back a couple of months from being injured, so basically starting from zero. You've no real contacts, everybody's made arrangements, you're trying to get into different yards, building up a rapport with different trainers and them getting to know you a bit better.” A useful member of the profession quickly came to his aid, as Berry recalls.

“I'll always be grateful to Henry Candy. I went freelance on a Saturday and he rang me on the Sunday morning asking if I'd be interested in riding work two mornings a week. That was a big fillip. To get a call from a trainer like him is uplifting to the spirits when it's a wondering-what-you're-going-to-do-now kind of thing. 'You might not like it', he said, 'you might go back after day one', but I've been there ever since.”

He continues: “There have been times it hasn't been easy, there was a quieter period last August and September, but we had a good winter. I enjoy the variety of it and the way the Saturdays are set up in England during the summer, it's not a bad thing to be free where you go, to a point. It's very important as a freelance to get return business, you can get a ride or two for anybody but if you can't get return business you're doing something wrong. I think a positive thing has been that the majority of people I've ridden for keep using me, and that's how it's been building up in the right direction.”

The 'we' Berry refers to includes Tony Hind, uber-agent to the likes of Ryan Moore and Jim Crowley, and Berry explains that the pair had formulated a long-term plan together. “'Boney' and I met in Hong Kong years ago and always kept in touch. He got me riding Kool Kompany (Ire) (Jeremy) for Richard Hannon in the G2 Railway S. and was the first man I spoke to when I thought about moving. He thought it would be a good idea, but to come over freelance it would be too hard to start off, so if I could secure a position it would give me a good base, that's where the Ralph Beckett link came. It served a purpose in getting me established and getting a feel for the scene. Boney is a very hard worker and has a team of jockeys that most trainers are happy to make just the one phone call to him. I'm in the position not being tied down too closely so that I can slot in for a good spare on the back of some of his other riders.”

Although not troubling the principles just yet, Berry should comfortably eclipse last year's tally of 66 winners and it only takes moments in his company to appreciate why he appears so well-liked in the industry. Warm and unfailingly polite, he even apologises twice for delaying this interview for a physiotherapy session. Among the rider's newer fans include the Sussex-based Frenchman David Menuisier. He delivered Thundering Blue (Exchange Rate) right on the line in the G2 York S. and was not too far from repeating the trick when third behind Roaring Lion (Kitten's Joy) in the G1 Juddmonte International S.

“I thought he was well worth a shot at a Juddmonte on a track where he excels,” Berry says. “But it was a big call by David and Clive Washbourn {owner} to supplement him. When you find you're 50 or 66-1 on the day, I suppose people are wondering what you're doing and whether you're burning money, basically. But the horse justified it by running well. For a small team and a young trainer, it could easily not have materialised but it showed he knows what he's got.”

After the Knavesmire, Thundering Blue's story continued with victory in the G3 Stockholm Cup International S, setting him up for targets even further afield. “I think David wanted to get him on a plane and try him at a mile and a half with the Canadian International and possibly the Japan Cup in mind. I know he was entitled to win but I thought he did it very well at the extra trip off a strong pace.” Thundering Blue was indeed back on his travels soon after his trip to Sweden when he lined up in the GI Pattison Canadian International S. at Woodbine where he found only fellow British trained Desert Encounter (Ire) (Halling) too good.

There have also been disappointments during Berry's career, such as suffering serious damage from a fall at the Curragh in 2005 – one of four occasions where he ultimately finished second in the Irish championship. During his long service for John Oxx, he was never able to grasp the lead role in an era of Mick Kinane and Johnny Murtagh. It is to Berry's credit that he never seems to have been suffused with bitterness. Life has fallen into place in a village near Hungerford which the family are happy to call home. A baby daughter has arrived and Jordan has begun school – “he's got an English accent as well”. Yet domestic bliss has not taken the edge off the work ethic. Employing a full-time driver to ease the daily slog around the country and riding out for others such as Joe Tuite and Ian Williams are clear indications that Berry might yet enter a title fray again some day.

“I'm very ambitious and prepared to work hard, that's not a problem. I think this year has all been about progress and you'd hope that it'll build again next year. If you can keep improving, you don't know what's going to be around the corner. It was a bit frustrating at home. Pat Smullen is one of my best friends but he was nearly impossible to beat – I ran into him by four or five winners one year and I was well clear in 2005 when I broke my neck. That was probably a missed opportunity but I was lucky to get back riding. It's something that's in the back of your mind over here, particularly with the way it has gone (from May to October). If you can get a bit of momentum early in the season, as a freelance you can more or less go where the winners are. I enjoy riding. I know it can be a grind to get on that kind of treadmill, but if an opportunity happened to come along, we'd pursue it with all the effort we could.”

Berry still speaks to Smullen every day, and mentions that one of the things he misses most about home was their car sharing journeys to the races along with Kevin Manning and Declan McDonagh. It came as an enormous shock to the racing world when Smullen announced in March that he would be undergoing treatment for a cancerous tumour on his pancreas.

“Pat won nine championships – one behind my dad (exceptional jump jockey Frank Berry), although I'm not slagging, him – and hopefully please God he'll be back for a 10th one next year. He's doing remarkably well, and it just shows you can never take anything for granted.”

Frank now runs owner JP McManus's racing empire and Berry can also see his longer-term future in the bloodstock world. “It's something I'm interested in,” he says. “I like going to the sales and you keep your eyes open for the next step, whenever that is. Through my travels I do get calls about finding horses, I'm sure it'll happen somewhere along the line, but that'll be in a few years. I'm only getting going, I hope.”