Robin Oakley

Farewell to the greatest ever jockey

The late Lester Piggott’s tally of victories still astounds

Credit: John Shelley Collection/Avalon / Contributor 
issue 17 December 2022

In racing’s record books 2022 will be remembered especially for Alpinista’s Arc de Triomphe and Baaeed’s all-round brilliance. But it was the year, too, in which we lost the sport’s most popular owner, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, and the greatest ever jockey, Lester Piggott. His figures still astound. Lester won 30 British Classics including an unrivalled nine Derbies.

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