Lester Piggott, among best jockeys of 20th century, dies at 86

Lester Piggott, one of the finest jockeys of the 20th century, has died.

According to reports in the British press, Piggott died Sunday in Switzerland after a recent hospitalization. He had suffered heart problems in recent decades.

Piggott was 86.

In the United States, Piggott was best remembered for his dramatic win aboard Royal Academy in the 1990 Breeders’ Cup Mile at Belmont Park, which occurred less than two weeks after he returned to riding following a five-year absence from the saddle. During that time, Piggott spent a year in prison for tax evasion. Piggott was 54 when he rode Royal Academy.

Royal Academy was trained by the Vincent O’Brien, with whom Piggott was closely allied at times through his career along with two other legendary trainers – Noel Murless and Henry Cecil.

Born in Wantage, England, west of London, in 1935, Piggott was part of a racing family and began riding at the age of 12 in 1948. While his father and grandfather were successful at the highest level of British jump racing, Piggott made his mark as a flat jockey.

Piggott was champion apprentice for three consecutive years from 1950-52 and won his first of 11 British riding titles as a journeyman in 1960. He was leading rider in that country from 1964-1971 and in 1981-1982.

Piggott rode over jumps at times in the 1950s, and rode a winner at the prestigious Cheltenham Festival in 1959. But it was his decades-long success in flat racing that left him as a legendary figure in British racing. Piggott rode 4,493 winners on the flat, third behind only Gordon Richards and Pat Eddery on that country’s all-time list.

Piggott won the English Derby at Epsom Downs an astonishing nine times, first with Never Say Die in 1954 and for final time aboard Teenoso in 1983. He won the famous race on such legendary horses as Sir Ivor (1968), Nijinsky (1970), Roberto (1972), and the Minstrel (1977).

Piggott rode Nijinsky to a sweep of the English Triple Crown, consisting of the 2000 Guineas, the Derby, and the English St. Leger. Later that year, Nijinsky finished second in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp in Paris, Europe’s leading flat race. Piggott later won the Arc de Triomphe three times, on Rheingold in 1973 and aboard Alleged in 1977-1978.

Piggott won the English St. Leger eight times, the English Oaks on six occasions, the English 2000 Guineas five times, and the English 1000 Guineas twice. Overall, he won a record 30 British classics, the last of which was aboard Rodrigo de Triano in the 1992 English 2000 Guineas at the age of 56.

Through his career, Piggott rode 116 winners at the Royal Ascot meeting, a record that still stands.

Piggott occasionally ran afoul of racing officials. He was suspended for six months in 1954 for what was deemed a rough ride on Never Say Die in the 1954 King Edward VII Stakes at Royal Ascot. Piggott was 18 at the time.

A tall jockey who stood 5-foot, 8-inches, Piggott rode occasionally in the United States. Other than his Breeders’ Cup victory, Piggott won three runnings of the Washington, D.C., International at Laurel aboard Sir Ivor in 1968, Karabas in 1969, and Argument in 1980. At the time, the D.C. International was one of the world’s leading turf races of the autumn before the development of the Breeders’ Cup.

Piggott’s last ride in the United States was marred by tragedy when Mr Brooks suffered a catastrophic injury on the turn of the BC Sprint at Gulfstream Park in 1992 and could not be saved. Piggott sustained injuries in the spill.

Piggott finally retired from riding in 1995.