UK Horse Racing Tips

It’s been all too long since I added a jockey profile to the site and so I decided to add another one to mix it up a bit. Horse racing of course has no shortage of history to it and there are so many figures within the sport that have more than made their mark. One high on the list has to be none other than Lester Piggott.

Born in the relatively small market town of Wantage, Oxfordshire Lester Piggott went on to achieve greatness within the sport, in no small part down to amassing a staggering 4,493 wins over the course of his illustrious career.

Dubbed “The Long Fellow” by his contemporaries and great many fans, the champion jockey is known for his trademark competitive personality and connections toward the horses he rode. Nijinsky was one that stood out for him as the horse with the most natural ability of any he rode. For good reason too, as Nijinsky won some of the most noteworthy races over his career (Epsom Derby, King George VI, Queen Elizabeth Stakes etc). He had other favourites, regarding Sir Ivor as a horse that he felt very attuned to.

Those 4,493 wins of course included a great many highlights and records, one of which was winning the Epsom Derby a staggering 9 times. His stellar career, which started in his teens, spanned over decades. All in all, he was crowned Champion Jockey a record eleven times, which goes to show the standard he was able to keep up over the years. When people think of successful flat racing jockeys, Lester Piggott is often one of the first names to come to mind.

Lester Piggott’s success in racing wasn’t a total surprise to everyone, as to put it lightly the man certainly has pedigree. His Grandfather Ernie Piggott rode three Grand National winners and three-times British jump racing Champion Jockey. he went on to become a trainer, and in fact trained Ayala, who went on to win the Grand National in 1963. Ernie was, it seems, a grand national winning machine in multiple capacities. I can’t even win the race as a punter, let alone on the back of a horse, But still, I hope out hope so let’s hope I have a bit more luck when betting on Grand National 2017 at William Hill UK. Fingers crossed for me.

Piggott retired in 1985 but his passion for the sport never once dwindled, as he followed family the family tradition of becoming a trainer, amassing 30+ winners from a stable of almost 100 horses. Unfortunately, he fell foul of the tax man for a brief time in the early 90’s, but was soon back in business shortly after, as you’d expect from someone as determined and single minded as this man.

In fact he’s still going strong now at the ripe old age of 81. Surprised at his own longjevity, Piggott hasn’t lost his trademark sense of humour:

““What can you do? It’s a fact, isn’t it? A lot of people know I’m going to turn 80 – but I wish they didn’t.”

Comments are closed.