JACK Berry stands by the side of his striking statue and looks around in admiration at the impressive building, which bears the name of the legendary Lancashire trainer.

The hundreds of red bricks, sold at £50 a time towards the cost of Jack Berry House that make up the paving in front of Berry’s sculpture, carry the inscribed names of Arkle, Grittar, Nijinsky, Mill Reef, Night Nurse and Dubawi Gold, some of racing’s greatest equine champions.

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“Words can’t describe what I think about this place,” said Berry, who trained for many years at Moss Side Racing Stables at Cockerham and remains a familiar figure on the racing scene.

Haydock Park will celebrate Betfred Jack Berry House Day on Friday and Berry said: “I broke 46 bones in my riding career and jockeys fall every 16th ride.

“We need to look after them.”

The £3 million rehabilitation centre for injured jockeys at Malton was given the royal seal of approval in June, when it was opened by Her Royal Highness Princess Anne.

The impressive facility includes a rehab pool, horse simulators, a gymnasium and respite accommodation that will greatly aid the recovery of injured jockeys in the north of England and ease the pain of those with long-standing problems.

Recipient of the MBE for his tireless fundraising efforts on behalf of the Injured Jockeys Fund, he says he is proud of the thousands of people who have donated to the cause.

“A lovely old lady from Blackburn sent me a £2 cheque, and then the next day I was doing a TV interview at York and Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad saw the programme.

“He donated 20 of his horses, and all the winnings would go towards the cost of the rehabilitation centre.

“Sheikh Joaan said ‘I’ve got a cheque for you Mr Berry’.

“It was for £450,000, but when it gave it me he had rounded it up to half a million.”

Dubbed ‘Mr Two Year Old,’ because of his prodigious ability to turn out juvenile winners, Berry was never a man bound by convention.

He habitually wears a red shirt at the racecourse and one thing was always predictable – that he would train 100 winners a season. By the time he had finished he had clocked up 1,657 winners.

“If it was breathing, had four legs and a tail then it had half a chance at Cockerham,” he said.

“People asked why I retired. I was 62 and I thought to myself, ‘Jack you are not going to train a Derby winner’, so it was the right time to go.”

In 1985, his youngest son Sam was seriously injured and permanently disabled in a fall from one of his horses at Sedgefield, but it is not only that personal tragedy which has turned him into the Injured Jockeys Fund most dedicated fund-raiser.

“I just love the game – the best sport in the world. I wanted to put something back.”