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Baz (NZ)

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Sad to hear the death of legendary jockey Lester Piggott who has passed away at age 86 😢
I won't forget the winning ride on Arbre Chene at Ellerslie when beating Blue Rula narrowly in the Air New Zealand Stakes.
R.I.P Champ ! 🌹

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Lester Piggott led Nijinsky to the Triple Crown in 1970

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It does make your spine tingle watching that footage 

They’re just rock stars over there …the top echelon of jockeys that is, and trainers…..here they’re treated like shit for some weird reason 

Being the provocateur, as I am, I’m saying Eddery at his best was the better of the two though 

To quote another source, “watching Eddery ride was like watching a seal in the water”… To give him due credit Lester was a freak too

I think his finest moment was when he won the Breeders Cup on a grey horse from the UK ( BerriFruit… give me a name )..and some scribbling hack said to him after the race race..”at what stage did you think you’d win Lester “…. and he thaid “about last Thurthday” 

Funny bathtard wath Lester… in the dry style 

 

 

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I saw Lester win on Milkwood at Scotsville, in Pietermaritzburg, about 1975.  Lester wasn't ready at the start but the starter let them go anyway.  He settled six or more lengths behind the second last horse and in the straight came through the middle of the field to win.  Unbelievable.

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One my relatives had a china or porcelain statue of the great nijinsky and lester on his back, always thought it would end up with me, being the only one interested in racing, but alas it didnt, he also had one of great sire sir tristram as well, would have been treasured and appreciated if they had came my way after his passing, one could only hope they are treasured where ever they ended up.

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Just adding to the story.....part of this is taken from another publication (Racing Post) appended with inside information that allegedly is true...

Lester was passed fit to make a sensational return to the saddle at the age of 54. Just 30 miles across the East Midlands from Nottingham where he had bade them farewell with huge celebration five years previously, Piggott had the world's press descending on Leicester where he began his second riding career with three mounts for Henry Cecil on a quiet Monday afternoon in October.

 

There was no immediate return to the winner's enclosure that day. But 24 hours later he was on the mark on Nicholas, getting the better of the 26-year younger Richard Quinn in the aptly-named All-Aged Stakes at Chepstow. And he beat Pat Eddery in landing the following race on Shining Jewel too.

He returned to top-level racing with a third place on Surrealist in the Group 1 Dewhurst at Newmarket on the Friday of that first week back.

The following Tuesday he returned to the Curragh with four rides for O'Brien. And won on them all. Piggott was ready for the Breeders' Cup. 

 

The colt was owned by Classic Thoroughbreds PLC,  a syndicate that bought a few horses including Royal Academy for US$3.5m. He was one of the most gorgeous horses you would ever want to see and I have pictures of him that I took at the sales in 1988. I was doing a stint in New York and managed to get down to the sales for a nosey.

Classic Thoroughbreds had launched with a fanfare in 1987 but whose fortunes and stock value had waxed and – mainly – waned in the three years since.

What a lot of people didn't know was that later Lester allegedly bought into Classic Thoroughbreds on the quiet, because of Royal Academy , on the advice of Vincent, and that set up the real reason for Lester's comeback after getting out of the klink. Yes there are stories of the stable rider breaking a collar bone but the plan was put into action well before this.

Jacqueline O'Brien later reported that the jockey was more anxious than she had seen him in the 30 years he had ridden for her husband and said: “Lester felt this was the most important race of his entire life, and Charles and I definitely knew it was the most vital for Vincent, particularly as things were going so badly for Classic Thoroughbreds.”

Some in the know say this extreme nervousness was due to the rules of the New York Jockey Club demanded that all owners be fingerprinted – that was no easy task when officials were faced with a list of numerous shareholders – so he raced officially for "the Classic Thoroughbred partnership" at Belmont Park. Just imagine coming out of jail for tax evasion, having an alleged yet unofficial ownership interest in Royal Academy that allegedly wasn't declared, racing in one of the biggest comeback programs of all time.

The fairy tale soon became a tale.

 

 

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Where to start with Lester? The greatest of his time - I believe he held Bill Shoemaker and Yves Saint-Martin as his two greatest opponents in the saddle.

Like Dettori, he moved beyond the sport in spite of his issues with communication which were well documented.

The partnerships with Noel Murless, Vincent O’Brien and Henry Cecil (arguably the three top trainers of their era) cemented his position but he rode all over the world and thrilled crowds everywhere. 
 

His riding style was unique and the authorities never liked him but the punters and racegoers did.

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