Lester The Legend

By Cyrus J. Madan

Lester Piggott, in spite of being a world class jockey, was no stranger to Calcutta. He obtained his jockey's licence in Calcutta in 1958 and was a regular rider here between 1958 and 1970. While Cyrus Madan profiles the inimitable Lester, we have pleasure in adding a record of his performance in Calcutta at the end.

Few men have become legends in the course of their own life time, and Lester Piggott, the greatest Jockey of the recent times, is a living example. There will never be a boxer like Mohammed Ali, a batsman, of the class of Sir Donald Bradman, a footballer in the league of the Black Pearl - Pele, and a jockey as great as Lester Piggott.

On September 9, 1995, the legend decided to call "time" on a racing career that had dominated racing around the world for over four decades. With his 60th birthday less than two months away, the Maestro announced that he had made his last come back and ridden his last winner.

A genius on the saddle, but an enigma out of it - it was difficult to know what Lester Piggott was really like. Was there more to him than met the eye, or less? For every point, there was a counterpoint and, on and off the race course, Lester Piggott always made his own rules. One rule that he never broke, however, was that second was not good enough.

His first classic triumph was in a race considered to be the greatest horse race in the world - The Epsom Derby. He put his own distinct stamp on this race, winning it for the first time back in 1954 on a horse named Never Say Die. In May 1985 he took his tally of English Classic wins to a mind boggling 29, a record they said would never be broken, for the simple reason that Piggott had announced his retirement later that year.

But records and Lester Piggott were made for each other. In October 1990 Piggott made a sensational come back to the saddle after almost five years, at the ripe old age of 54. His admirers and the racing world were ecstatic, his critics cynical, as they felt he was well past his prime.

It did not take Lester long to silence them as he seemed to take up the reins at the very place he left off. He cornered the limelight by winning The Breeders Cup Mile on Royal Academy in USA. Lester Piggott had announced his return and what a return it was to be. Less than two years later, Piggott improved on his own English Classic Record when he rode a Chestnut Colt named Rodrigo-De-Triano to a superb victory in the 2000 Guineas at New Market.

In India we had the good fortune of watching Lester in action when he was in his prime and he rode some brilliant races here in Calcutta. On one particular occasion he produced an incredible performance astride the Galstaun trained colt named Congo. The owners of the 2nd and 3rd placed horses in the race came and informed Mr. D. E. Avari, the owner of Congo, "It was not your horse that won the race".

In March 1991, Piggott once again gave Indian turfites something to remember when he rode the Mallya owned Delage, trained by R. Byramji, to a brilliant victory in the Classic Indian Turf Invitation Cup at Guindy Racecourse in Madras. The crowd on that occasion rose as one to applaud this genius and for the first time in many years we actually saw a smile on "old Stoneface".

Tall for a flat race, jockey Piggott developed his own inimitable style, short stirruped, high bottomed, superbly balanced and supremely effective. His tally of trophies - Classics, Graded Races and championships, piled up. Race fans came to believe that their hero was capable of anything and he certainly was. But only one man could have retired at the age of 50, staged a comeback at the age of 54 and within a fortnight won the Breeders Cup Mile and followed it up two years later with his 30th individual Classic win on Rodrigo-De-Triano.

There may have been a number of great jockeys who have laid their claim to fame in the 20th century, but there will never be another Lester Piggott.

Lester Piggott's Record at the Calcutta Races

Race Date	Horse	Position
1.1.58	Third Degree 1st Hill-Billy	1^st Unplaced
4.1.58	Lovely Woman	2nd
18.2.61	Risby	3rd
28.12.68	Grey Mist	1st
	Narrator	2nd
	Fair Haven	1st
	Pushful	1st
1.1.69	The Patrician	1st
	Royal Victory	4th
	Pussy Galore	3rd
	Master Moss	2nd
5.1.69	Pot Of Gold	1st
	Bimbo	1st
	Eastern Flame	3rd
	Gold Bond	4th
	Desire'	2nd
	Congo	1st
13.12.69	Sir Moss	4th
	Play Boy	3rd (D. Ht.)
	Pussy Galore	Unplaced
	Nature's Gift	3rd