Big-hearted race fan’s a real winner
A BUDDING jockey took on a gruelling eight-day trek to raise money for injured riders.
Jack Lander, 10, was joined by stars of the racing industry as he walked 172 miles from Newmarket to the Jack Berry House rehab centre in Malton, North Yorks.
The plucky lad has just completed his first season of pony racing.
And it was the many tumbles off his mount Annie that inspired him to support injured jockeys.
Proud dad Darren said: “It all started when Jack fell off his pony a couple of times and realised what jockeys put themselves through.
“His sister Rachel works at a racing yard so Jack hears all about what goes on and he wanted to help. Two years ago we walked for 56 miles and managed to raise £13,500.
“But this time was obviously a lot tougher with the idea to walk to the jockey rehab centre from the home of racing, Newmarket.”
Jack has so far raised another £11,000 for the Injured Jockeys Fund, which runs Jack Berry House, and Racing Welfare. The causes have been close to Jack’s heart since he got into racing when he was five.
Darren, from Stourbridge, West Mids, added: “Jack loved racing when we took him to Newmarket the year Frankel won the 2,000 Guineas in 2011. He said right off he wanted to be a jockey.”
Jack was joined on the trek by jockeys George Chaloner and Henry Brooke and Jack Berry himself. Berry, now 79, broke 46 bones in his 16-year racing career and was the inspiration to develop Jack Berry House.
Brooke is now back racing after a horror fall last year left him in an induced coma with eight broken ribs and a collapsed lung.
Jack said: “I wasn’t worried about all the walking, I was just excited.
“Meeting all the new people and some of my heroes and raising money for two important charities for the racing industry is what I was passionate about.
“Now I’ve done my first season pony racing it feels exciting to be part of it. One day I want to be a jockey just like them. I’m proud of what we’ve done.”
You can sponsor Jack at UK.virginmoneygiving.com/JacksRWIJFWalk.