Nine derby wins for Piggott
Lester Piggott, now aged 83, rode nine winners in the Epsom Derby.
They were Never Say Die (1954), Crepello (1957), St Paddy (1960), Sir Ivor (1968), Nijinsky (1970), Empery (1976), The Minstrel (1977) and Teenoso (1983).
He believes that Never Say Die, Crepello and Nijinsky were his best three winners.
He said: “Never Say Die loved a left-handed course and was not so good racing to the right. Crepello was a great. I’d get on him and let him run. And as for Nijinsky, he was superb… an elegant horse who I loved riding emmensely.”
1954: Never Say Die (33-1)
When winning 65 years ago, Piggott, aged 18, became the youngest rider ever to triumph in the Derby. “The family did not have a special party or celebration. It was just an ordinary evening for me” said Piggott.
1957: Crepello (6-4 fav)
The heavily backed favourite won comfortably, Piggott’s ride being described as 'superlative' and 'impeccable' by racing journalists. When Crepello (owned by Sir Victor Sassoon) was being led back to the winner's enclosure, the flamboyant society hairdresser Pierre 'Teasy Weasy' Raymond broke through the crowd barrier and thrust a gold watch into Piggott’s hand.
1960: St Paddy (7-1)
Piggott never asked the horse (also owned by Sir Victor Sassoon) a serious question… he won with comfortably by three lengths. Having earlier broken the course record when winning the Eclipse at Sandown, St Paddy then came second in the King George at Ascot after which the aforementioned Mr. Sassoon, suffered a heart attack and died.
1968: Sir Ivor (4-5 fav)
Raymond Guest, St Ivor’s owner, and then the American ambassador in Dublin, could not be at Epsom to see his horse win the race in a canter… he saw Manchester United's 4-1 victory over Benfica in the European Cup final at Wembley instead!
1970: Nijinsky (11-8 fav)
Recalled Piggott: “After winning my fifth Derby on a great horse, I was invited up to the Royal Box by the Queen for the very first time in my career, along with the horse's American owner, Charles Engelhard and his trainer, Vincent O'Brien.”
1972: Roberto (3-1 fav)
A superb, forceful ride took Piggott and the O'Brien-trained Roberto to a short-head victory over Rheingold. However, in was 20 minutes before the result was officially declared, following a stewards' inquiry. Roberto's regular rider Bill Williamson was injured and Piggott was named as his replacement. The following day Hugh McIlvanney wrote in the Daily Express: 'No jockey could have ridden the bay colt better that Piggott did yesterday.'
1976: Empery (10-1)
Recalled Piggott: “Empery was a nice colt but I never expected him to beat the favourite Wollow. In fact, before the race, the London Evening Standard stated that ‘Piggott will need a gun to stop Wollow from winning’. As it happened Wollow failed to stay the distance and finished fifth, with Empery winning by three lengths.
1977: The Minstrel (5-1)
Third in the 2,000 Guineas and second in the Irish Guineas, The Minstrel, owned by Robert Sangster and trained by Vincent O'Brien, had lost his two previous important races and there were doubts about running him at Epsom but Piggott persuaded both owner and trainer to let him. Piggott told O’Brien: “On decent ground, he'll win” and so it proved as Piggott produced a brilliant ride, guided The Minstrel to a neck victory over Hot Grove. “We had a great party that night” recalled Piggott. The Minstrel was later syndicated for £6m and Hot Grove for £320,000. What a difference a neck makes!
1983: Teenoso (9-2 fav)
As a measure of the extraordinary longevity of Piggott’s reign as ‘King of the Derby’, one might just consider this: of 20 jockeys who opposed him in the 1983 race, seven had not been born when he won on Never Say Die in 1954. Teenoso loved the heavy ground and proved to be Piggott's easiest Derby win. “All I had to do was let him go and it was all over” said ‘LP’.
Fact File
■ After winning in 1983, Piggott rode six more times in the Derby but never did better than a fifth place finish, on Alphabatim (1984) and Khamaseen (1994, his final ride).
■ Between 1948 and 1995, Piggott rode 4,493 winners on the flat, including 30 in Classic races: The 2,000 Guineas (5), The 1,000 Guineas (2), The Derby (9), The Oaks (6) and the St Leger (8).
He was also champion flat race jockey 11 times, claiming the top spot on seven separate occasions in the 1960s. He now lives in Newmarket, virtually overlooking the racecourse.