Yippee, ippee, ey, ey... neigh! Bez’s
HAPPY MONDAYS STAR LAUNCHES HIS OWN HORSE RACING CLUB
HAPPY Mondays star Bez has revealed he is launching his own horse racing club.
And the 56-year-old is seeking fans’ help to buy into a thoroughbred filly, which he has called Mystic Moonshadow.
Bez, real name Mark Berry, is still a novice in the sport but will learn how to commentate, improve his knowledge and hone his riding skills.
He says his experience in the field extends only to placing bets on the Grand National and Cheltenham Gold Cup, and being a childhood fan of the Dick Francis horse racing novels.
“It’s all the joys and nightmares of horse ownership without the cost,” he said. “It’s like a private members club where you come on the journey with me and the horse.”
Winnings from Mystic Moonshadow will be donated to Manchester-based homelessness charity, Coffee 4 Craig, of which Bez is a long-standing supporter after spending time sleeping rough as a young man.
The horse will race in “United red and City blue” in tribute to Manchester’s two biggest football clubs.
As for the name Mystic Moonshadow, Bez said it came to him in a dream.
“With my youngest son, every time there is a full moon we are always dancing in the garden in the moon shadow,” he said.
“I woke up one morning screaming. I had been dreaming about bloody horses and horse racing and I was screaming ‘Moonshadow’ at the top of my voice - that name came in a dream.
“Because we couldn’t have Moonshadow, my girlfriend came up with the mystic bit so we stuck mystic on the front of it and came up with Mystic Moonshadow.”
The racing club was conceived by Bez in partnership with Racing4Business and its founder Phil Hawthorne.
Mystic Moonshadow is a twoyear-old flat racing filly, sired by Showcasing, who previously won the Gimcrack Stakes at York, where he broke the course record.
The horse will be trained by Jedd O’Keeffe, who has trained a number of winners over the flat, hurdles and fences.
Bez said: “The horse is looking really good. She’s so fast I think she is going to be a winner. She is outrunning all the horses of her age and she has had to start training with older, more experienced horses.”