Frankie Dettori: 'I wasn't intimidated - I used to pull his leg all the time'

Frankie Dettori has spoken of his great relationship with a personal friend in remembering Lester Piggott following the iconic rider's death aged 86.

Dettori sent his well wishes to Piggott by video earlier in the week and had been in close contact with the former jockey for many decades.

Their relationship began when Dettori rode for Piggott as an apprentice, and he fondly remembers one of Piggott's greatest days in the saddle when he returned from retirement and a spell in prison to win the Breeders' Cup Mile on Royal Academy at the age of 54 in 1990. Dettori finished seventh aboard Markofdistinction.

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

Dettori said: "It's a sad day. I've been keeping in touch with Maureen and Jamie Piggott since Lester went into hospital. I sent him a video two days ago and Jamie said he showed it to him yesterday and had a little chuckle. I was just saying, listen, Lester, we're thinking of you, hope you get well.

"And it looked like he was maybe going to come out of hospital this week. But then when I saw Maureen's number on my phone this morning, I thought, this is not good.

"I rode for him as an apprentice and that's how I first got to know him. He was very straightforward to ride for. You have to remember, this is back in the days of the old telephones where you had to actually dial the number, we didn't have mobiles. Obviously because he was a little bit deaf, he was a man of few words. But he was direct and to the point on what I had to do.

"Then he spent a little time away and came back and then I was in that famous race in Belmont on Markofdistinction, when he was on Royal Academy. He got on my tail throughout and then pulled him out and did the impossible, a 54-year-old, not long back in racing after five years out and he does something like that. For me, that was his biggest ride.

"I can only imagine what he was like in his 30s, I didn't have the chance to see that."

Dettori enjoyed many a laugh with Piggott – the feeling might not have been entirely mutual – towards the end of his riding career and remembers "an infamous moment" at Goodwood when Piggott reached for his private parts mid-race.

Dettori said: "I had a personal relationship with him because I guess I wasn't intimidated, I used to crack jokes with him. The last few years that we rode, we travelled the world together – to the point that I was a bit annoying, I used to pull his leg all the time.

"And then there was that infamous moment in a Goodwood handicap when he reached under my legs and squeezed my crown jewels. When we pulled up, I said: 'Hey, Lester, what was that about?' He said: 'That'll teach you a lesson...'

"We shared a great friend together, Barney Curley, and were very close for that reason. I got to know him because of Barney. We all know what Lester's achieved in racing, he was 20 years in front of anyone else, he was a great jockey, that's all in black and white. But as a personal friend, I felt we had a great relationship."

Dettori has two Derby wins to Piggott's record nine triumphs, and this week's Epsom meeting promises to be a poignant occasion, at a track where riders used to regularly ask Piggott for his invaluable advice.

"I'm only seven Derbys behind Lester," said Dettori. "I did ask him for advice when I was young, we all asked Lester how to ride Epsom. Before I won on Authorized, he just told me: 'Listen, ride the horse, don't ride the race. Keep focused on what you have to do.' Those were good words to have in the back of my mind. He'll be greatly missed."

Lester Piggott:

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

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