Lester Keith Piggott was born on Bonfire Night 1935 in Wantage, Oxfordshire, to a family that could trace its roots as jockeys and trainers back to the 18th century. Put it this way, at 72 you feel very differently about things than you do at 25.” We are all still friends and that goes for all the family. When Susan was asked about his leaving her she replied: “I’ve known Barbara for years and she is a very nice person. Piggott had two daughters with Susan and a son from his former secretary, Anna Ludlow. When he was asked by a journalist if he was contemplating divorcing Susan and marrying Barbara he replied: “Never thought about it.” In 2012 he left his wife of 52 years, Susan, to live on the banks of Lake Geneva with his mistress Lady Barbara FitzGerald who was 22 years his junior. Overnight he turned from National Treasure to villain and was stripped of his OBE. Despite a personal wealth of £20 million he was accused of using different names to channel earnings to secret bank accounts in Switzerland, the Bahamas, Singapore and the Cayman Islands.Īt the time it was the biggest individual income tax-dodging case ever brought in Britain and the sentence was the highest to be passed for a personal tax fraud. In 1987 he was sentenced to three years in prison, serving a year, for failing to declare income of £3.25 million. His controversial private life meant he was regularly in the headlines. Legendary jockey Lester Piggott signs copies of his book in 2004 Pigott told him to "try the other ear again". Legend has it that when he was asked by a stable boy for a £5 gratuity, he motioned the lad to talk to his “good ear” at which he upped the request to £10. What shall I say?" Piggott replied: "Tell them you have flu."īut those who knew him spoke of his dry wit. When trainer Jeremy Tree once asked him: "I've got to speak to my old school, Eton, and tell them all I know about racing. That was partly down to being born partially deaf which gave him a speech impediment and made him keep his public utterances to a minimum. The limelight-shunning enigma was caricatured as a dour, monosyllabic introvert. An anecdote that did the rounds was that his breakfast consisted of a cigar and a cough.
It was because of that height that he waged war against his own body by constantly starving himself so he could ride at 30 pounds less than his natural weight. Lester Piggott wins the 1970 St, Leger at Doncaster on Nijinskyįew sportsmen have been as dedicated to winning as the man they called The Long Fellow due to being relatively tall at 5’8” for a Flat Jockey.