A Tribute to Lester Piggott

1935 -2022

Lester

F e w p e o p l e r e c e i v e s u c h w o r l d w i d e a c c l a i m t h a t t h e y c a n b e i d e n t i f i e d b y t h e i r f i r s t n a m e a l o n e . Lester Pig gott , w ho p as se d a wa y p ea cefull y a ge d 8 6 l as t weekend, w as o ne .

Retiring from the saddle having won a record 30 British Classics, Lester will be remembered as one of the most iconic sports stars of his or any other generation. With 4,493 UK winners to his name only two jockeys have ever ridden more – Sir Gordon Richards and Pat Eddery. But it was at Epsom Downs where his achievements remain unrivalled. A record nine Derby victories, six Oaks winners and an unprecedented nine Coronation Cups may never be eclipsed. Perhaps appropriately, as Britain celebrates The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee this weekend, it was Her Majesty’s own Carrozza who provided

Lester with his first Oaks winner in 1957 and it required all the skill of the jockey known as “The Long Fellow” as she held on to win by a short-head. Petite Etoile was his next Oaks winner in 1959. Among the very best fillies to have graced the turf, the grey was owned by Prince Aly Khan and trained by Noel Murless and her prowess around Epsom Downs was reinforced when she returned to claim the Coronation Cup in 1960 and 1961. The success of Valoris in the 1966 Oaks marked the first time Lester linked up for a major triumph at Epsom Downs with Vincent O’Brien and the legendary Irish trainer would go on to supply Lester with four of his record nine Derby winners in Sir Ivor (1968), Nijinsky (1970), Roberto (1972) and The Minstrel (1977). Further Oaks success came for Lester on Juliette Marny (1975), Blue Wind (1981) and Circus Plume (1984), with his final ride in the fillies’ Classic coming on eighth-placed Marillette in 1993. The first of his record nine Coronation Cup wins came in 1953 on Zucchero, a talented but quirky horse who two years earlier had left Lester at the start on his first ever Derby mount aged 15. Further Coronation Cup victories followed on Nagami (1959), Petite Etoile (1960 and 1961), Park Top (1969), Roberto (1973), Quiet Fling (1976), Sea Chimes (1980) and Be My Native (1983). Roberto holds the distinction of being the last Derby winner to go on to Coronation Cup success. Lester’s sheer longevity in the saddle was also unsurpassed. Having ridden in his first race as a 12 year old boy, the first of Lester’s record 36 Derby mounts came as a 15 year old in 1951, before his final ride in the world’s greatest Flat race aged 58 in 1994, when he partnered 33-1 chance Khamaseen into fifth place. Put simply, “The Lester Piggott Years” began when Sir Winston Churchill was Prime Minister and ended with John Major inside 10 Downing Street. When he finally called time on his career, Lester was commemorated at Epsom Downs with the opening of the Lester Piggott Gates, officially unveiled by The Queen on Derby Day in 1996. Later that afternoon, Shaamit landed the premier Classic and was, appropriately, trained by Lester’s son-in-law William Haggas. A further tribute followed in 2019, when William Newton’s life-size bronze statue of Lester was unveiled by The Queen next to the Epsom Downs winner’s enclosure. This year The Jockey Club has honoured the world’s most famous jockey by renaming tomorrow’s Cazoo Derby as The Cazoo Derby (In Memory of Lester Piggott). Join us all today for a minute’s applause at 1.15pm to celebrate the life of Lester Piggott. Champion. Genius. Icon.