• Piggott won nine Derbys and 30 Classics during golden period
• Training career was cut short when he was jailed for tax fraud
Lester Piggott, the outstanding jockey of the post-war era and a figure who transcended the sport of racing when the popularity of the Derby was at its height, has died aged 86.
Piggott earned the nickname ‘The Long Fellow’ because of his relative tallness among jockeys at 5ft 8in but became popularly known as ‘the housewives favourite’ during a period when he won nine Derbys and the Epsom Classic was the most famous race in the world. Piggott’s influence on racing was such that he spawned a new ‘shorter’ race-riding style with pulled-up stirrup leathers which changed the art of jockeyship.
