Charles Berry

Charles Berry

Article by Alan Trout

Apprentice Charles Reginald Berry had a few rides on the Flat in the early 1930s without managing to ride a winner.

He was apprenticed to Eric Stedall, who trained at Lewes, and had his first ride at Alexandra Park on October 1, 1932 when finishing fifth of eight runners on a three-year-old filly named Pescadora in the Apprentices’ Handicap won by Cyril Rowley on Pretty Obvious. Future five-times champion jockey Doug Smith finished third on Butterscotch and at that time only had one winner to his name, nearly 18 months after his racecourse debut. Pescadora was later exported to the Argentine Republic.

Things appeared to be going a little better for Charles in 1933. Riding in the same Alexandra Park apprentice race in which he’d made his debut the previous year, he finished second on Duncooler, beaten two lengths by Vic Cordell on Lunavasa.

Duncooler finished third on his next outing, again with Charles on board, in another Apprentices’ Handicap at Newmarket on October 24. Pretty Obvious won again, this rime ridden by Stanley Middleton. Charles was obliged to put up 6lb overweight at 7st 2lb that day, so it may be that rising weight was beginning to become an issue.

Eric Stedall trained 18 winners that season but, alas, Charles Berry was not on any of them. He had what proved to be his final ride on an unnamed gelding by Coronach out of Naples, trained by Stedall, in the Apprentices’ Two-Year-Old Selling Plate at Lingfield Park on November 18, 1933. Once again, Charles had to put up overweight, in this case 1lb to ride at 7st 7lb. That may have been the reason he did not ride in Britain again.