Lester Piggott
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With 30 English Classic victories to his name, including 7 Guineas victories here at Newmarket and a record 9 Epsom Derbys, Lester Piggott was the jockey of his generation and one of the greatest of all time. -
Born on 5 November 1935, he rode his first winner, The Chase, at Haydock in 1948 aged just 12 years. By the time he finally retired in 1995, he had registered 4,493 victories in Britain, as well as more than 800 abroad in 27 different countries.
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He was crowned Champion Jockey in Britain 11 times.
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He rates Nijinsky, the 1970 Triple Crown winner, as the best horse he ever rode.
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He won the July Cup on the July Course a record 10 times.
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He rode his final Classic winner at the age of 56 when landing the 2000 Guineas of 1992 on Rodrigo De Triano.
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Popularly known as ‘The Long Fellow’, Lester was unusually tall for a flat jockey and, in his battle to keep his weight down, was reputed to have existed on half a glass of champagne, small coffees and a large cigar each day.
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Britain’s annual jockeys’ awards are known as ‘The Lesters’ in his honour.
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His home is still in Newmarket, less than a mile from the Rowley Mile.
