Still the centre of attention aged 57 In an era where superlatives are passed out with alacrity for sports stars of ephemeral career duration, it would still be fair to describe Lester Keith Piggott as a legend; a sportsman whose career spanned six decades and became a household name even to people with only a passing interest in horse racing. There will surely never be another jockey that can claim five Derbies in ten years and to also have won the Triumph Hurdle and the Derby as a teenager in the same year. In 43 years in the saddle, Lester rode more than a hundred winners 25 times and was champion jockey eight consecutive years from 1964 to 1971. Piggott came from a racing family, his father a Grand National winning Lambourn trainer after a career as a National Hunt jockey and his grandfather a three time champion National Hunt jockey. His first ride, trained by his father, came in 1948 when he was just 12. The first of his 36 rides in the Derby came just three years later on Zucchero and just three years after that his first victory on the unfancied Never Say Die making him the second youngest jockey to win the race. After his Derby winner was beaten at Royal Ascot, Piggott was banned for the rest of the season for reckless riding and ordered to leave his father’s yard. At a young age, Lester already had a win by any means mentality. Piggott went to Newmarket to ride for Jack Jarvis. When Gordon Richards retired through injury, Noel Murless was left looking for a jockey and signed Lester to start in 1955. In 1957, Piggott won the Derby on Crepello and the Oaks on Carrozza for The Queen. Lester also won the 1000 Guineas and the Oaks on the brilliant grey Petite Etoile in 1959 for Murless and a third Derby came in 1960 on St Paddy. Piggott’s association with Murless ended in 1966 when he chose to ride Valoris for Irish trainer Vincent O’Brien to win the Oaks rather than the Newmarket trainer’s filly that finished third. Although Lester was not officially O’Brien’s jockey, riding as a freelance, the association between the pair brought huge success. In 1968, Lester won the Derby on Sir Ivor and two years later he won the Triple Crown on the mighty Nijinsky. Two more Epsom victories came for O’Brien on Roberto, arguably his greatest Derby ride, in 1972 and The Minstrel in 1977 giving him back-to-back wins after collecting on Empery for Maurice Zilber in 1976. The Irish winning machine was not limited to Classics, with Lester steering Alleged to victory in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in 1977 and 1978. After Piggott stopped riding for O’Brien in 1980, he became first jockey to Henry Cecil in 1981, winning the 1000 Guineas on Fairy Footsteps and the Ascot Gold Cup on Ardross on his way to being champion jockey. He was champion again in 1982, for the eleventh and final time, and Ardross also won the Gold Cup again. He collected his final Derby success on Teenoso in 1983 for Geoff Wragg. Having left Henry Cecil in 1984, he retired for the first time in 1985 and set up as a trainer. Winning the 1993 Nell Gwyn on Niche with subsequent 1000 Guineas winner Sayyedati second Of course Piggott will always be associated with the 366 days that he spent in prison when convicted of tax evasion in 1987, which also saw him stripped of the OBE that he had received in 1975. His wife Susan took over the training duties in his absence but the yard’s fortunes dwindled and once Lester was released he gave up the training game. The parade before Rodrigo De Triano beat All At Sea to win the 1992 Juddmonte International Seemingly out of the sport, Piggott announced that he was returning to the saddle in 1990. The return to racing began in spectacular fashion as “The Long Fellow” won the Breeders’ Cup Mile on Royal Academy for O’Brien. Before Piggott retired for the second (and final) time in 1995, he managed to add another 2000 Guineas to his record on Robert Sangster’s Rodrigo De Triano in 1992. We will surely never see the like of Lester Piggott again. No jockey can obtain a license before the age of 16 under modern rules and they would have to be very fortunate to ride for two of the greatest trainers of their era; and no jockey can claim to have had as much influence on the style of riding since he began riding with short stirrups, balanced precariously in the plate, as most jockeys ride today.
Lovely tribute. Don't forget he also rode a Grand National winner (albeit not in the great race)....Red Rum
