The maracas-shaking legend that is Bez – aka Mark Berry – is immersing himself in the thrilling world of horse racing, and he wants the UK to saddle up and join him on the ride by becoming of a member of Bez’s Racing Club.
Bez’s Racing Club is a unique way for people to buy membership into a brilliant thoroughbred racehorse, a striking looking young filly that Bez has called Mystic Moonshadow, after the name came to him in a dream.
The brand-new racing club gives members a shared experience of racehorse ownership, alongside regular entertainment from Bez. It’s ideal for anyone looking for a safe new hobby that they can enjoy from the comfort of their home, or for anyone who fancies learning more about the fascinating and exciting world of horseracing
For Bez – a self-confessed racing novice – it’s an opportunity to throw himself into something completely new.
He’s only ever sat on a donkey before, placed a single bet (which he lost) and can’t tell a blinker from a bridle, but in true Bez style he’s massively up for the challenge and ready to throw himself in the deep end to go from racing amateur to race day winner.
Any winnings from Mystic Moonshadow will be donated to Manchester-based homeless charity, Coffee 4 Craig, which Bez has long supported due to his own experiences of being homeless when he was younger.
Now Bez is calling on fans, old and new, and anybody with an interest in horses and horseracing, to join him on what will be an entertaining, but bumpy and often hilarious ride, by becoming an exclusive member of his club.
Membership can be purchased for £59.
Members will see Bez as they’ve never seen him before, when he throws himself into the exclusive, thrill-packed world of horseracing. We’ll follow Bez as he learns to commentate, masters the art of placing a bet and hones his own riding skills.
They will get to experience what it’s like to own a thoroughbred racehorse with Bez – and of course, all the highs and lows that go with it. Bez will be giving regular zoom chat updates to members so they can talk to their favourite maraca-waving frontman directly. Covid-permitting, there will even be the chance to win tickets and join Bez to watch Mystic Moonshadow race from the owner’s enclosure and visit her at the training yard with the Happy Monday himself.
In addition, members will receive a welcome pack with a hand-written postcard from Bez, a certificate of membership, car window sticker, monthly newsletter updates on how the horse is developing, and the chance to win regular Bez’s Racing Club merchandise.
Bez will also take to social media where members will see him interview bookies, train with the jockeys and even provide Mystic Predictions with Moonshadow on the big questions of the day.
Commenting on his new adventure, Bez said, “Growing up in Salford I never dreamed I would part-own a thoroughbred racehorse. The closest I ever got to racing action was a Dick Francis novel. To have the opportunity now to launch my own racing club and throw myself into this new adventure is amazing – unexpected, but very amazing.
I’m launching the club for anyone that fancies being involved in racing but who’s never been able to afford a horse, or for people that think that racing is too posh or exclusive for them. If the sport will let me in, it’s open for everyone!
I fell in love with the idea of launching it after becoming a member of Burrow Seven, the racing club set up for Rugby League player Rob Burrow. It was such a good idea, and I’m always looking for adventures and new ways of having fun, so I thought let’s get stuck into this racing game.
The beauty of the club is that you get all the perks of being a racehorse owner without any of the unexpected costs. We’ll get to follow the success of Mystic Moonshadow as she starts her racing career. Everyone will get updates on her training and development, and we can all watch her live from the racecourse with lots of behind-the-scenes gossip. I can’t wait
When lockdown lifts, I’ll be offering competitions to come and join me on race days to raise a glass as we watch her from the owner’s enclosure or to visit her at the yard where she lives. It’s going to be such a brilliant year-long experience. It’s just what we all need to get us through these depressing COVID times. I’m really buzzing about it.
Obviously, I can’t promise we’re going to be winners, but I can promise that we’re going to have a lot of fun, some great days out and hopefully we’ll all make some good friends as we get involved in the world of racing. I’d love everyone to come and join me on this adventure.”
Mystic Moonshadow is a promising two year old flat racing filly, sired by Showcasing, who won the Gimcrack Stakes at York where he broke the course record. Showcasing is the only stallion to have sired two Royal Ascot Group 1 Commonwealth Cup winners and he also sired 24 individual two-year-old winners in 2020. His dam, Dream of Joy, placed twice at two and three years.
Selected by the team behind Burrow Seven, Mystic Moonshadow will be trained by Jedd O’Keeffe who has trained many winners over the flat, hurdles and fences.
Jedd commented, “Mystic Moonshadow is an enormously exciting horse and she comes from a fantastic pedigree. Her father has a great track record of siring Group One winning fillies and her mother is an impressive sprinter too, so there’s a lot of speed in both parents. The ideal attributes for a winning racehorse are a great pedigree, willing attitude, competitive nature, good movement, a great size and the aptitude to want to be a great racehorse. Mystic Moonshadow appears to have all of these qualities.
She will race on the flat over quite short distances as she’s bred to be a sprinter. We expect her first race to be in April or May 2021 and we could expect to see her race around five or six times each year.”
Commenting on meeting Mystic Moonshadow for the first time Bez says: “She’s the most magical, beautiful horse I’ve ever set eyes on. She’s got these deep wise eyes, wizard whiskers and a really distinctive looking white blaze on her face. As soon as I met her I felt a strong connection. I think we’re kindred spirits.”
Bez’s Racing Club was conceived by Bez in partnership with Racing4Business and its founder Phil Hawthorne. Phil launched the hugely popular Burrow Seven Racing Club in November 2020 which was launched to raise money for Rugby League legend Rob Burrow. To date it has donated £100,000 to the MND Association.
