Lester Piggott no more: Pesi Shroff, Aslam Kader pay tribute to legendary jockey

Legendary English jockey Lester Piggott who won the Epsom Derby a record nine times in a career spanning 47 years passed away on Sunday in Switzerland where he spent the last years of his life He was 86Piggott rode his first winner at the age of 12 and his last at 59 coincidentally both at the Haydock racetrack in England His career tally stood at 4493 winners Piggott created a sensation by winning his first Epsom Derby at the age of 18 in 1954 astride Never Say Die and became a bigger sensation by winning the Breeders Cup Mile in the US in 1990 at the age of 54 after coming out of his second official retirementBeing too tall for a jockey at 5 8 Lester earned the nickname The Long Fellow in racing circles He also popularised the riding style of sitting up and riding with shorter reinsPiggott was born into a racing family and had hearing and speech issues as a child He preferred to spend time with horses in the stables of his horse trainerfather Keith who impressed upon him that a jockey must try to win at any cost advising little Lester he should go between the hind legs of the horse in frontrdquo if there was no room It was a tip which many felt was responsible for Piggottrsquos many visits to the stewards room to explain what was viewed as dangerous riding on many occasionsHowever these visits never perturbed the legendary jockey ldquoLester goes into the stewards room like Clint Eastwood and he comes out like Clint Eastwood He doesnt give a damn jockey Bryn Crossley once saidSome psychologists attribute Lesters obsession with money his miserly nature despite making millions and his later brush with tax authorities which made him spend a year in jail for tax evasion to the constant advice he received during his impressionable years from his mother who had seen many jockeys die in penury after making big money in their primeDespite his faults and reticence which gave the impression of him being arrogant he was the darling of the British racing fans who religiously bet on his horse especially when he rode in the Epsom DerbyIt was rumoured that Piggottrsquos winning ride astride Nijinsky in 1970 cost the English bookmakers close to pound3 million in payoutsJockey Willie Carson who rode alongside Piggott for several years and can rightly claim to know him inside out chose to call him enigmatic bizarre but unique when asked by a producer who made a documentary on Piggottrsquos life Piggott however refused to feature in the documentary unless he was paid a small fortune for the appearance confirming Carsons assessment of himPiggott made a few trips to India to ride in the Indian Derby at Mahalaxmi for horses owned by Vijay MallyaThe greatest rider without a doubt former ace jockey Aslam Kader called him when speaking to middaycomHe was generally reticent Kader added but when I beat Willie Carson astride La Bonn Vie in a photo finish in the 1992 Indian Derby with Astonish Lestor who also rode in the race came up to me and said You are a top rider That was an amazing rideldquoHe twice visited India to ride in the Derby I have many fond memories of himrdquo said Pesi Shroff who narrated an incident when he visited London after winning the 1991 Indian Derby with Star Fire Girl ldquoI donrsquot know from where he got the phone number of the flat I was staying in but the host woke me up at 5 am saying there is a prank call the person on the line says he is Lester Piggott and wants to speak with me Indeed it was Lester He said he was going to Ireland for a rideand wanted to know if I would like to join him I said yes I would love to and he quickly arranged for the flight tickets and a box at the racecourse to make it a memorable day for merdquo