Willie Carson, Lester's great rival for 3 decades, was always reluctant to praise Piggott when they were riding but when the great man died Willie was probably the most upset of all his fellow jockeys. They had some fantastic battles and at times I had the feeling there was no love lost between them yet when they both retired Willie was always the first person to tell everyone how good Lester was. Great video.
I remember mid 80s Lester struck Willie across his back with his whip as they crossed the winning line. Willie had beaten Lester by a nose, and turned to him and said something ‘’ beat you again”, Lester told the stewards 😮🥴🏇. Two wonderful pilots.
@@RO-uf9ii The day Lester died Willie was holding back the tears in an interview on The Racing Channel. It was as if part of his life went with Lester. As you said, they were two great pilots.
Thanks for this great post! Of all those that have received a Knighthood for various reasons, IMHO it remains the biggest travesty that Lester didn't get that honour, after having dedicated so much of his life to The Sport Of Kings.
Most people in Racing knew something about Lester, but hardly anybody knew very much! Even his fellow Jockeys never got past only the superficial knowledge of him. Such was his aloofness which added to his mystique, Lester was always his own man he never cared what anybody said or taught about him he seldom complained just got on with what he did best always riding to Win thats why the general public adored him! Lester was a legend who became an ICON we will not see his like again
I am yet to see a jockey driving a fading horse half a furlong from the winning post and beating the field with the WIND SCREEN WIPER method of pushing and whipping the horse simultaneously I was never so amazed at such a feat for Lester Piggot will be in my memory as long as I live end of story
Great Jockey who ,knew more about racing than anyone. On his comeback he could have had his 10th. Derby Win. He rang Trainer & Owner to say he was willing to ride their Horse in Derby. But unusually they stuck with their own Jockey & Horse Won. ( Maybe they thought Lester to old then. But at least Lester realised what Horse would win !!!!!!
You can only look on and admire such people, special and unique. Wantage should be proud of probably their greatest son. And don't forget that the nearby Lambourn is known for jump racing 😉.
I still think never say die was the best derby winner he rode. As far as I know the horse still holds the record for the longest winning distance of the st ledger. . Lester couldn't ride it in the ledger because he was banned. . What made him was fearless riding and belief in himself, today we have jockeys that have no game plan in a race and they all want to hold up horse's at the back..
Oct 1970, Longchamp, Paris. Le Prix de L’Arc de Triomphe. Nijinsky went there as favourite; he had had a long , hard season. After the St Leger he was tired ,had ringworm and Lester knew that he was not right.Sensible connections would have retired the horse ,he was unbeaten and best of all , he had won the Triple Crown. But as we all know, he got beat by Sassafras. Then the whole business left a bad taste when again the connections got it wrong, and entered an over the top horse in the Champions Stakes. A tired Nijinsky struggled and Lorrenzacio did him. I blame the owners, Piggot knew the horse better than anyone.If only they had listened.
@@HorseRacingLegends I remember when Rob Burrows died and people suggested that it's not often that you see someone so special die, i think that Lester is in the same category.!! RIP Lester 🙏. A true English hero, in the same vain as Churchill, Barnes Wallace, Guy Gibson, Montgomery, Paddy maine, Malcolm Campbell, Mike Hailwood, John Surtees, James Hunt, Nigel Mansell, Lewis Hamilton, etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc.
@@ronaldbarnes3327 This is how stupid he was the tax man came after him and he had to declare where all his money was the tax man fined him and what does he do? paid the fine from an account that he had not declared which ended in him getting a prison sentence.
Willie Carson, Lester's great rival for 3 decades, was always reluctant to praise Piggott when they were riding but when the great man died Willie was probably the most upset of all his fellow jockeys. They had some fantastic battles and at times I had the feeling there was no love lost between them yet when they both retired Willie was always the first person to tell everyone how good Lester was. Great video.
Yes The Older they got the more friendly they became for sure.
I remember mid 80s Lester struck Willie across his back with his whip as they crossed the winning line. Willie had beaten Lester by a nose, and turned to him and said something ‘’ beat you again”, Lester told the stewards 😮🥴🏇. Two wonderful pilots.
@RO-uf9ii That’s a Great Story
@@RO-uf9ii The day Lester died Willie was holding back the tears in an interview on The Racing Channel. It was as if part of his life went with Lester. As you said, they were two great pilots.
@@davidrobinson2776 Ahh bless Willie
I'm 70.The best I've seen.
Yes me too and by a long way.
You can compare jockeys from different decades but Lester will always unquestionably be the G.O.A.T 👍🏻
Without question
Enjoyed this.many thanks 😉
Glad you enjoyed it
@eirenuaireland Thank you so much.
Thanks for this great post! Of all those that have received a Knighthood for various reasons, IMHO it remains the biggest travesty that Lester didn't get that honour, after having dedicated so much of his life to The Sport Of Kings.
Yes it’s a disgrace.
He was regarded as having STOLEN from qe2. So no knighthood
@kevinsynott4380 Yes that’s worse than Murder in their eyes unfortunately
He was a tax fraudster
Another fantastic video, I am really enjoying your channel, brings back a lot of memories!!
Glad you enjoy it Ronnie.
True legend love seeing the old footage
Glad you enjoyed it.
The greatest of them all.
100 PC.
The 'Long fellow' was certainly unique, his instinctive talent was matched only by his ruthless determination, in and out of the saddle.
Yes Lester would win at any price.
Vincent and Lester, no one to touch them. Thanks
Great Combination
Hard as nails our Lester
Yes a Legend of a Guy.
The GOAT of flat racing . Made me a few bob in the 70s and 80s .
Yes The Maestro.
I rode work few times with Lester. What an honour.Stitched me up though 😅 but I wasn't only one
That's awesome! That memory will last forever.
Happy Birthday Lester❤ Remember Remember the 5th of November 🥳
The Maestro unequaled amongst Jockeys.
A true legend.
Agreed.
Greatest of them all by a country mile
Without a shadow of a doubt.
Most people in Racing knew something about Lester, but hardly anybody knew very much! Even his fellow Jockeys never got past only the superficial knowledge of him. Such was his aloofness which added to his mystique, Lester was always his own man he never cared what anybody said or taught about him he seldom complained just got on with what he did best always riding to Win thats why the general public adored him! Lester was a legend who became an ICON we will not see his like again
In my opinion the Greatest Sportsman of all time
I am yet to see a jockey driving a fading horse half a furlong from the winning post and beating the field with the WIND SCREEN WIPER method of pushing and whipping the horse simultaneously I was never so amazed at such a feat for Lester Piggot will be in my memory as long as I live end of story
Best ever
Without Question
Lester was a legend
Agreed.
Piggott was brilliant, he was as good as the horse they both didn't talk. And got the job done. Like the man says.
Agreed.
Great Jockey who ,knew more about racing than anyone. On his comeback he could have had his 10th. Derby Win. He rang Trainer & Owner to say he was willing to ride their Horse in Derby. But unusually they stuck with their own Jockey & Horse Won. ( Maybe they thought Lester to old then. But at least Lester realised what Horse would win !!!!!!
Yes The Best Jockey ever.
Simply the Best Ever i Remember him taking the French Jockey,s Whip in Mid Race Simply the Best Ever ❤
Yes that was brilliant from Lester.
Is that a figure of speech? Sounds illegal. What happened?
His cousin Fred Rickaby went to South Africa and became a vey successful trainer winning all the major events in the country multiple times.
Thanks for that information much appreciated
@@HorseRacingLegends that should be cousin not uncle.
Thank you.
Legend
Agreed.
You can only look on and admire such people, special and unique. Wantage should be proud of probably their greatest son. And don't forget that the nearby Lambourn is known for jump racing 😉.
Yes that’s right.
The ap McCoy documentary, is like this 1 sporting greats
AP McCoy Documentary Racing Legend.
ruclips.net/video/LNn5nmc9pFs/видео.html
In my lifetime there’s been 3 sporting icons, Muhammad Ali, Pele and Lester Piggott.
Great Shout John.
Cannot imagine how he dealt with Prison. Being a man up & out most of day riding or being involved with Horses.
Yes he should never have been sent to prison
@@HorseRacingLegends Yes I have always thought he took the Fall for himself & many others in Racing
Could you put up the ap McCoy documentary, that is good as this documentary
Im sure I’ve got on.Will Check.
@@darrellirwin8412 AP McCoy Documentary Racing Legend.
ruclips.net/video/LNn5nmc9pFs/видео.html
Hugh McIlvanney on Lester Piggott - "A volcano trapped inside an iceberg"
Hugh was World Class.
Love it!
I still think never say die was the best derby winner he rode.
As far as I know the horse still holds the record for the longest winning distance of the st ledger. .
Lester couldn't ride it in the ledger because he was banned. .
What made him was fearless riding and belief in himself, today we have jockeys that have no game plan in a race and they all want to hold up horse's at the back..
Fair comments and thank you so much for that.
Oct 1970, Longchamp, Paris. Le Prix de L’Arc de Triomphe. Nijinsky went there as favourite; he had had a long , hard season. After the St Leger he was tired ,had ringworm and Lester knew that he was not right.Sensible connections would have retired the horse ,he was unbeaten and best of all , he had won the Triple Crown. But as we all know, he got beat by Sassafras. Then the whole business left a bad taste when again the connections got it wrong, and entered an over the top horse in the Champions Stakes. A tired Nijinsky struggled and Lorrenzacio did him. I blame the owners, Piggot knew the horse better than anyone.If only they had listened.
Yes he came to win The Arc but swerved badly left in the closing stages.
@@HorseRacingLegends Such a shame. One race too many. The last horse to win the St Leger and the Arc in the same year was Ballymoss? Not sure.
And to think that these days kids call footballers and pop stars heroes. 😂😂😂😂😂
Yes it’s unbelievable really.
@@HorseRacingLegends I remember when Rob Burrows died and people suggested that it's not often that you see someone so special die, i think that Lester is in the same category.!! RIP Lester 🙏. A true English hero, in the same vain as Churchill, Barnes Wallace, Guy Gibson, Montgomery, Paddy maine, Malcolm Campbell, Mike Hailwood, John Surtees, James Hunt, Nigel Mansell, Lewis Hamilton, etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc.
@@keithgoodrick-meech3921 Yes I would put Lester up there with any Sportsman that’s ever lived.
Legend in his own lifetime l mean to come back and win on royal academy in America was fairytale tale absolutely incredible it was the greatest 😊
@davidmcmahon5234 Yes he was always going to win once he wound him up.
Pat rode more championship s and group winners
Yes Pat was an amazing Jockey John.
I don’t who will match lester
Can’t ever be done.
Lester was only interested in Lester.
That’s what it takes.
I thought that only applied to Trump.
@@ronaldbarnes3327 This is how stupid he was the tax man came after him and he had to declare where all his money was the tax man fined him and what does he do? paid the fine from an account that he had not declared which ended in him getting a prison sentence.
@@katewild2194 Thanks Kate. Do you know how long he served?
If I remember right he got 3 years and did 18 months
Treated shamefully by royalty.
Yes I agree.
from pathe news to sky sports calling his racers
Longevity
@HorseRacingLegends when I thought of it like that it done him justice .great videos
@@Kevjohno Thank you so much.
Lester is without a peer and sadly the Derby is no longer the greatest race in the world.
Yes I agree with you there.