A man of few words in public, Lester Piggott did his talking in the saddle – and hardly anyone in horse racing history did it more eloquently.
His seemingly flawless skill and instincts, as well as a ruthless streak, helped to make him a winning machine, loved by millions across the nation.
Piggott, who has died aged 86 in hospital in Switzerland, rode his first winner aged 12 and his last when he was 58.
He fell from grace when he was jailed for tax fraud.
But his standing as perhaps Britain’s greatest ever flat racing jockey has never been in question.
Jockey Frankie Dettori said: “He was a legend. We always tried to aspire to be like him and none of us can do it. We all grew up wanting to be like him.”
Rod Street, chief executive of Great British Racing, said: “Lester was a true titan of sport who transcended horse racing.” Five-time champion jockey Willie Carson said: “I feel as though I’ve lost part of my life as Lester has been part of my life since I came into racing.
“He is a legend. We had the luck of some ding-dongs on the track. He made us all better because we had to be better to beat him... He was so magical on top of a horse.”
Piggott was known for his single-mindedness and was not averse to phoning up trainers to get rides he thought he could win on, regardless of the incumbent jockey. Carson added: “He had the confidence, because he didn’t care about others, where normal people worry about doing the wrong thing.
“That man, for some reason, never showed any pressure. He rode his horses with such great confidence.
“I wouldn’t call him a close friend, but as the years go on, the more endearing you are to one another.
“We had a racing life together and I wish I had been as good as him.”
Another former champion jockey Kieren Fallon said: “Everybody was in awe of him, especially us young riders.
“I was in the stalls, riding a good filly, and Lester was in the stall beside me. He said ‘what are you doing?’ and I could not wait to tell him – I planned to make the running.
“He popped in behind me and 100 yards from the line he pulled out and...boom. He had beaten me. He knew she was the one to beat and if I hadn’t told him what I was doing, it might have been a different story.
“It was a great education to get from a master. You never reveal your hand. It was just typical of him. I think I called him ‘sir’ in the stalls as well.
“He was such a legend. Everyone tried to aspire to be like Lester.
“Lester was such an icon, a brilliant rider and a superb tactician.”
Piggott, who was born in 1935, retired as a jockey in 1985 and became a trainer. But in 1987 he was sentenced to three years in jail for tax fraud of more than £3million.
There was an alleged omission of £1.3m from additional riding income, and £1m from bloodstock operations over the course of over a decade.
Piggott was said to have used different names to channel his earnings in secret bank accounts in Switzerland, the Bahamas, Singapore and the Cayman Islands.
The judge remarked that Piggott even misled his own accountants “until the matter was forced out of you” last year.
After the conviction he was stripped of his OBE which had been awarded in 1975. Piggott served 366 days in prison.
After being released, he resumed his career as a jockey. Aged 58 in 1994, he was kept in hospital overnight after suffering bruising and mild concussion in a fall at Goodwood.
But he returned to the saddle and continued to win before retiring for a final time in 1995. He lived near Newmarket, Suffolk, for his whole career before emigrating to Rolle in Switzerland with his partner Lady Barbara FitzGerald, though legally he was still married to his wife Susan. Piggott died a week after he was admitted to hospital.
His cause of death has not been revealed, though he had a history of heart trouble. The dad-of-three, who was notoriously secretive about his finances, is estimated to have left a £10million estate.
Speaking at Haydock Park on Saturday, his daughter Maureen Haggas, had said he was ‘much better’ than earlier in the week and would hopefully “going home on either Monday or Tuesday.
Piggot was a father of three. He also leaves a son, Jamie, from a relationship with Anna Ludlow, his personal assistant at the time.
Aidan O’Brien, the current trainer at the Ballydoyle yard in Co Tipperary from where Piggott enjoyed so much success with Vincent O’Brien said: “He was a very special man, he used come here every year around Classic time and we’d go through all the horses and he would give his thoughts on them.
“He didn’t say a lot, but every word he said you really hung on to.
“It was an absolute privilege that we did know him.”
Trainer Sir Michael Stoute said: “Lester was a genius on a racehorse. I don’t think there has been anyone better.
“Lester could be very entertaining when he was in the mood.. he had a great sense of humour.
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“But he was tough to talk to at times. He is an icon, a brilliant jockey. Many have tried to be like him and no one has come close.
“There are very few people in racing who are known by their first names, Frankie [Dettori], Lester, probably Henry [Cecil] – and that’s by the general public, not just us people who think it’s a huge world in our business.
“You mention Lester’s name, everyone knows Lester, everyone has got a story to tell about Lester. Whether they backed him in the five o’clock somewhere or they bumped into him, he was worldwide.”
