Lester Piggott, regarded as the greatest jockey of the 20th century and the winner of the Derby a record nine times, died in Switzerland on Sunday. He was 86.
In an illustrious career spanning more than half a century, during which time he held the sporting nation in Britain and beyond in his thrall, Piggott was a compelling and dominant figure.
Hugh Anderson, the managing director of Godolphin in the UK and Dubai, paid tribute to the man known as Old Stoneface.
“Lester Piggott will always be one of the all time greats of flat racing. His skill, bravery and dedication to our sport led to a matchless record of success at the highest level,” Anderson said. “It is a sad day for our sport and Godolphin sends its condolences and best wishes to Lester’s family.”
Simon Crisford, who worked for Godolphin for many years as racing manager and latterly as a trainer, said Piggott had a close relationship with the horse racing world in Dubai.
“He rode multiple winners for wonderful owners,” Crisford said. “After he retired he would often come to Dubai. He was very much part of the whole Dubai fabric.”
Mere statistics do not do justice to the unparalleled brilliance and the mastery of his art. Apart from his haul of Derby victories, he won the jockey title 11 times and rode 4,493 winners.
Known as the Longfellow, he enjoyed a reputation for fearlessness, courage, an uncompromising attitude, ruthlessness when it mattered, and utter brilliance, especially on the big occasions when his temperament and sangfroid conjured victories that mere mortals may have struggled to deliver.
All were achieved in that trademark style described perfectly by commentator Brough Scott as akin to a bent hairpin, riding ridiculously short for such a tall man. Asked once about his dominance at Epsom and his pride at his achievements there, Piggott replied: “Records are always there to be beaten”.
Jack Berry, the former trainer and one of the inspirations behind the Injured Jockeys Fund, described Piggott as the greatest ever jockey. “Lester studied the horse and could read their minds,” Berry once said.
For a man of 5ft 8in, the scales were a constant battle, his affinity with black coffee and cigars legendary. His natural weight was above ten stone; his riding weight about eight stone six lbs. It was a struggle and no doubt contributed to his leathery, craggy features. The late Sir Peter O’Sullevan, the former commentator and a great friend of Piggott, wrote: “No other professional athlete can have ever performed to such a standard for so long under so ruthless a regime.”
Piggott rode against many of the finest jockeys in history, Sir Gordon Richards, Pat Eddery, Steve Cauthen and Yves Saint-Martin among them. The horse he enjoyed riding most was Ardross, the best he rode he said was Sir Ivor.
Piggott, who was partially deaf in one ear, was no stranger to controversy. In 1954 he was banned for the rest of the season after being found guilty of dangerous riding on board Never Say Die in the King Edward VII Stakes at Royal Ascot where his record of 116 winners is unlikely ever to be surpassed.
He went on to win the Derby more than any other rider, landing the race twice as stable jockey to trainer Noel Murless before turning freelance in 1967 and striking up a successful alliance with the great Irish trainer Vincent O’Brien. The pair won the Derby four times, including the great Nijinsky in 1970. Nijinsky remains the most recent horse to win the Triple Crown, consisting of the 2,000 Guineas, Derby and St Leger.
O’Brien was once asked why it was so important to have Piggott riding his horses. His answer was: “It means he isn’t riding against you.”
Lester Keith Piggott was born in Wantage in 1935. His father Keith rode 500 winners under both codes and then became a trainer at Lambourn, Berkshire. He rode his first winner in 1948 at Haydock, the same day that Sir Donald Bradman made his cricket Test farewell at The Oval.
He retired first in 1985 to train, and sent out 34 winners before being jailed for tax evasion. He served 366 days and was stripped of his OBE. Extraordinarily, within 12 days of returning to the saddle in 1990, he rode Royal Academy to win the Breeders Cup Mile. The famously taciturn Piggott won his 30th and final Classic on Rodrigo De Triano in the 1992 2,000 Guineas. By a neat twist he rode his final winner in 1994 at Haydock where it all began. He retired for good the following year.
Apart from his feats on the racecourse, perhaps one of his most significant achievements was how he broadened the appeal of the sport, helping to steer it out of its hidebound class constraints. “I hope I did do something positive. We were all trying to make it more popular,” he said.
In 2007 he spent some time in intensive care with heart trouble. In 2012 he left Susan, his wife of 52 years, and moved to Switzerland with Lady Barbara Fitzgerald.
He had married Susan in 1960 and they had two daughters, Maureen, who is married to trainer William Haggas, and Tracy, who is a sports presenter on Irish television. He also had a son, Jamie, from a relationship with Anna Ludlow.
