Prison letters bring Lester Pigott to Killarney Races

July 1991

A series of letters which outgoing Killarney Race secretary Finbarr Slattery wrote to Lester Piggott while he was one of the reasons why the racing came to Killarney on Monday to thrill thousands of punters with a display of his legendary racing skills.

Lester rode three winners at the Killarney meeting on a night when punters gambled close to half a million pounds on the Tote and with the bookies in a record splurge.

The meeting was special for Finbarr Slattery as it is his last after 13 years as race secretary and he was anxious to go out with a bang. Pigott has made a commitment to Finbarr at the Irish Derby in the Curragh in 1985 that if the chance ever arose he would like to ride in Killarney.

“He’d have come that year only for commitments he had in France for some Arab owners,” said Finbarr.

“Then when he retired and was jailed I thought I’d never see my dream of hearing a Killarney crowd shout ‘Come on Lester’ being realised.

“But, I kept in touch with him while he was in jail. I wrote him the occasional letter of encouragement. I had always been a fan of his.

“I was disappointed and saddened when he was jailed. I felt that it was an injustice to the man. And I said as much in letters to the Sporting Life at the time.

“His wife, Susan, acknowledged the letters. I don’t think Lester ever puts pen to paper for anybody. In fact when I wrote to him on this occasion to ask him to ride at the final meeting it was Barney Curley, the tipster and a great friend of Lester, who came on the phone to say that Piggott would be coming.”

Curley’s son, Charles, and Piggott flew by chartered plane to Cork for Lester’s date with Killarney on Mommy evening.

They were scheduled to fly into Farranfore but fog diverted them to Cork. However, Lester got to Killarney in time for a quick took around before the 6.30 race, which was to give him his first of three winners on the night.

“That race gave me the biggest thrill of my life,” said Finbarr Slattery, who took over as race secretary following the sudden death of Jack O’Shea 13 years ago.

“The atmosphere was fantastic and even though he was several thousand miles away in Keenland in the United States Vincent O’Brien shared in the excitement of the occasion over a phone line from the racecourse.

“Fair play to Vincent, he didn’t send just any old horses to Killarney. He sent three horses to win and he did it for Lester and myself. Of course Vincent and I have had a friendship going back over many years and he has had winners here for the past two years.”

Finbarr and Lester celebrated the jockey’s success over dinner in the Cahernane Hotel on Monday night and they shared a ride on a traditional backto-back jaunting car around Muckross Estate on Tuesday morning.

Lester was in such good mood that he even took over the reins of the jaunting car from jarvey Michael Kearney of Knocknahoe while posing for a picture.

Said pilot Peter Winborne before flying Piggott out of Farranfore: “I have never seen Lester happier than he was on this visit to Killarney.