LESTER PIGGOTT — who has died aged 86 — was the greatest jockey in the long history of horse racing.
He rode 4,493 winners, was champion jockey 11 times, won a record 30 Classics — including nine Derbys — and was the undisputed king of his sport alongside greats including footballer Pele, cricketer Don Bradman and boxer Muhammad Ali.
Tributes poured in for the “housewives’ favourite”, who died yesterday in Switzerland, where he lived. His cause of death has not been revealed, but he had been in hospital for a week.
Fellow jockey Willie Carson, 79, said: “Lester Piggott has been part of my life since I was 15 years of age and been by my side even after we retired. I feel as though I’ve lost an arm.
“He had a great aura, although he never said too much. When he walked into a room, you knew. As a competitor against him, we had to up our game. I rode in a golden era of jockeys because Lester Piggott made us better.”
Frankie Dettori, 51, described him as “the greatest of all time” and a hero. TalkTV’s Piers Morgan said he was a “jockey extraordinaire — irascible, driven, flawed, determined, courageous, brilliantly blunt and bluntly brilliant. One of Britain’s greatest ever sportsmen”.
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The statistics of his incredible 48-year career as a jockey — which ended in 1995 — barely scratch the surface of a troubled genius.
Born in Wantage, Berks, on November 5, 1935, his controversial life was a series of fireworks.
He was born and bred to be a jockey. His grandfather Ernest rode three Grand National winners and dad Keith trained 1963 Grand National winner Ayala.
From the age of four he was riding Brandy, his New Forest pony.
In 1948 he rode his first winner on The Chase at Haydock. He was 12 at the time and just 4ft 6in, weighing 5st 4lb. But controversy galloped beside him in his teens and he was judged as reckless and banned several times.
Famously when he barged the great Gordon Richards out of the way at Ascot, he yelled: “Move over, granddad.”
Born with deafness and a speech impediment Piggott always shunned publicity. His face was likened to “a well kept grave.” When asked why he seldom smiled after riding winners he mumbled: “I was thinking of all the times Dad asked me ‘Why didn’t you win?’.”
It was Keith Piggott who moulded his son into a riding machine.
Keith told me: “We Piggotts have always thought a lot about money. If we had a good bet, we expected to collect. Maybe in the old days I was too hard on Lester. If he got beaten on a ‘good thing’ I would not talk to him for a fortnight.”
Lester had an overpowering love of money — preferably cash. He seemed to relish his skinflint reputation. In 1987 he was sent to prison for three years for failing to disclose £3.5million to the Inland Revenue.
He served half his sentence, but was stripped of the OBE he got in 1975.
In 1970 jockey Duncan Keith was due to ride Humble Duty in the 1,000 Guineas.
But unlike Piggott, he lost his battle with the bulge and dieting ended his career. Lester stepped in for the winning ride and Keith recalled: “Days after the race I received a case of champagne. The message said simply — Lester.”
Maybe Piggott wasn’t the money obsessed man after all — but you wouldn’t bet against it.
“The Long Fella” grew to be tall for a jockey at 5ft 8in. Constant dieting — puffing on giant cigars and reading The Sporting Life for breakfast — left him gaunt.
Harry Carr, an early rival, said: “I thought with his dieting he was killing himself.” His look earned him his own Spitting Image puppet.
Piggott married trainer’s daughter Susan and had two daughters.
He also fathered a son by his secretary.
He spent his retirement in exile in Switzerland, living with Lady Barbara Fitzgerald, 22 years his junior.
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After a 1990 comeback win aged 54, a US pressman asked at what stage he thought he would win. Deadpan, he mumbled: “About two weeks ago.”
One absolute racing certainty — we will never see the likes of Lester Keith Piggott again.
