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Final nod to a grand tradition as thoughts of Lester Piggott dominate Derby week

Lester Piggott statue at Epsom Downs
Lester Piggott statue at Epsom DownsCredit: Edward Whitaker

The news of racing's great loss landed on Newmarket during a ritual in which Lester Piggott must have participated many times, the final bit of work for a Classic contender bound for Epsom.

The headquarters of Flat racing is a quiet place on almost any Sunday but the heady mix of hope and possibility that does so much to sustain the game invigorated a small, high-profile group assembled at 8am by the Polytrack gallop on the Cambridge Road to watch Nashwa, second favourite for Friday's Oaks, be put through her paces.

It was then that phones started to buzz with the sad news that the greatest jockey was no longer with us, dismay being added to the mix of reactions because there had been a word from the day before that Lester was on the mend and would be out of hospital ahead of this week's Classics. John Gosden, trainer of Nashwa, and Lord Grimthorpe, there to represent the owner, Imad Al Sagar, had the news broken to them just before the gallop.


Lester Piggott, legendary jockey and nine-time Derby winner, dies aged 86


"He dominated my racing life, really," said Lord Grimthorpe, speaking for all of us old enough to remember seeing Piggott ride. "He was the first jockey I could recognise.

"He was an extraordinary man. He rode winners for my father, who loved his humour, the endless one-liners that were always just part of him. And then when you spoke to him about racing, his knowledge of what was going on was second to none.

"Obviously, we're thinking of Maureen, Susan, Tracy, Barbara and Jamie, we're thinking of all of them."

For Gosden, memories of Piggott also took him back to the earliest days of his involvement in the sport, to a time 50 years ago when he was working as assistant to dominant trainers in Newmarket and Ireland, Sir Noel Murless and Vincent O'Brien. Those men who had forgotten more about the game than most ever know, who had nothing to learn from anyone, still hung on Piggott's words, carefully rationed as they were. "They listened to and savoured everything he said," Gosden recalled.

He has also spoken on occasion of how Piggott could cause "complete chaos" on a work morning by trying to find out what a horse could do when the trainer had quite a different plan in mind. Perhaps no other jockey could have retained his standing in an employer's eyes after doing such a thing once, never mind repeatedly. "That was typical Lester, who was always a rule unto himself. There'll never be another one like him."

Even in (temporary) retirement, he was still at it. In 1987, when Reference Point was having an important gallop en route to Epsom, Piggott was asked to ride and offer his insight. It was on the Across The Flat gallop, where the start is hidden from anyone gathered at the finish.

EPSOM, ENGLAND - MAY 23: John Gosden poses at Epsom Racecourse on May 23, 2022 in Epsom, England. (Photo by Alan Crowhurst/Getty Images)
John Gosden: 'He was a law unto himself - there will never be another like him'Credit: Alan Crowhurst (Getty Images)

Reference Point came last of four, provoking downcast looks from Henry Cecil and others, who were then stunned to hear Piggott assure them: "Yeah, he'll win." He had accidentally on purpose missed the kick by 25 lengths and been most impressed by his mount's ability to make up the ground.

On Sunday, Nashwa quickened nicely past her unnamed lead horse, a colt with a very respectable rating, and the footage was soon online. That would have been something for Nashwa's jockey Hollie Doyle to worry about had Piggott been a contemporary of hers, for he was also famous for guilefully manoeuvering himself into the saddle aboard leading Classic contenders, whether he had any prior association with them or not.

Half a century ago, a jockey getting the kind of thrill Nashwa provided on Sunday morning would have done their level best to suppress knowledge of the performance, for reasons entirely unconnected to betting.

We're in a different era now and Doyle, assured of her position in the owner's dark green colours, speaks freely. "She was pretty push-button in her work, so that's a good sign."

What does Piggott's passing mean to someone who was born the year after the last of his retirements? Plenty, of course.

"I've seen a lot of Lester in action," Doyle says. "He might be gone but he'll never be forgotten and he'll continue to inspire everyone in the industry.

Hollie Doyle: 'It's devastating news'
Hollie Doyle: 'It's devastating news'Credit: Alan Crowhurst (Getty Images)

"As a young jockey from day one, I knew who Lester Piggott was. He's a legend. Obviously, it's devastating news. My thoughts go out to Maureen and her family."

A hundred miles to the south of Newmarket lies Epsom racecourse, where Piggott rode an unmatched nine Derby winners, to say nothing of six Oaks winners and another nine in the Coronation Cup. The venerable course is in the final stages of preparation for another Classic weekend and many of those working there can remember when Piggott reliably made the headlines through this week. The timing of his departure is, in that sense, a final nod to a grand tradition.

Andrew Cooper, longstanding clerk of the course, can remember being trained there when Piggott was riding in his final Derbys. He was standing close to the race's starting point and about to embark on a walk of the track when word reached him.

"It was terrible news, all the more so because the bulletin the day before had seemed to be positive." Cooper recalled the many times when Piggott was there to help mark some new addition to Epsom lore, whether it be the entrance gates on which are painted images of his many moments of glory or the introduction of a velvet cap being given to each jockey who rides in a Derby for the first time.

Gazing down at the Epsom winning post is a lifesize bronze statue of Piggott, one of nine that were installed at tracks around the country in the summer of 2019, this one being unveiled by the Queen herself. Cooper tweeted a picture of the statue on Sunday morning, describing the mood there as "subdued and sad".

There was, naturally, a bit more levity on social media, parts of which were inundated with Piggott-related anecdotes, many of them familiar, some of them evidently personal and cherished, some sounding suspiciously like invention. Stories accumulated around him, possibly because he was so very much his own man and unhindered by any desire to please.

Piggott is the only reason stories are still gleefully shared between British punters involving the names Alain Lequeux and Darrel McHargue, he having pinched a whip from one and a St Leger-winning ride from the other. Google is your friend, if you haven't already heard both stories a dozen times.

How many we have lost who would certainly have been able to chip in some lovely memories of the great man and a magical era in race-riding: Henry Cecil, Julie Cecil, Joe Mercer, Greville Starkey and Walter Swinburn among others.

"I'm sitting here, thinking somebody's taken an arm off me," Willie Carson told Racing TV soon after the news had reached him. "He's been part of my life ever since I got into racing.

"He had an aura about him. He didn't care what anybody else thought of him. He just got on and did what he thought was right."

Peter Chapple-Hyam recalled an impressive gallop on the way to Rodrigo De Triano's success in the Juddmonte International. "The first words he said were, 'If you'd had him this right for the Derby, I wouldn't have come off the bridle'"

Trainers and owners accustomed to receiving deference from jockeys are probably quite content to think that there will never be another with such self-assured swagger, with that gunslinger's insouciance. Everyone smiles at the old line about there being no point in giving instructions, because a good jockey doesn't need them and a bad one won't be able to follow them.

Even so, there will be plenty of animated chatter inside the Epsom paddock this weekend, trainers gesticulating while riders nod politely. Then the jockeys must climb aboard and canter to the start, past a statue that seems to be smiling at them.


Lester Piggott:

Lester Piggott, legendary jockey and nine-time Derby winner, dies aged 86

The remarkable facts and figures behind Lester Piggott's career

In his own words: 'It was quite a bad punishment, wasn't it? It was almost inhumane'

Lester Piggott Q&A: a brilliant interview with the record-breaking champion

Appreciation: 'His cut-throat mentality was unmatched in the history of the turf'

'He was my idol growing up' - Mick Kinane on his admiration for Lester Piggott

Aidan O'Brien: 'Incredible man' Lester Piggott left unbelievable mark on us all

Racecourse brilliance and quieter moments: Lester Piggott in photographs

'Lester went wrong way round a roundabout to pass me! No wonder he was champion'

Nine Derbys, 30 British Classics and winners worldwide - Lester by the numbers

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