Jockeys

Lester Piggott, 85, recently made headlines as an inaugural inductee of Qipco British Champions Series Hall of Fame, created to celebrate the modern history of Flat racing in Britain. Of course, Piggott won the English Triple Crown – that is, the 2,000 Guineas, Derby and St. Leger – on Nijinsky in 1970 but, all told, rode a record nine Derby winners and 4,493 winners in total.

Piggott rode his first winner, a three-year-old filly named The Chase, trained by his father, Keith, in the Wigan Lane Selling Handicap at Haydock on August 18, 1948, as a twelve-year-old boy. It would be over a year until he rode his second winner but, by 1950, Piggott had ridden out his claim and the first of his record 116 winners at Royal Ascot.

Piggott would go on to become champion jockey 11 times between between 1960 and 1982 before retiring, the first time, in 1985. He susbequently plead guilty to tax evasion and was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment, of which he served a year and a day, before making an unexpected return to the saddle in 1990. He rode his last winner, Palacegate Jack, trained by Jack Berry, in the King’s Regiment Cup, a conditions stakes race, at Haydock on October 5, 1994, just a month shy of his fifty-ninth birthday.

The old adage, ‘If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is’ is not always correct but, in the summer of 1998, it certainly was. The previous year, Puerto Rican-born Angel Jacobs had begun riding work on Newmarket Heath and quickly attracted favourable attention for his accomplished, professional technique. Jacobs subsequently embarked on a career as an amateur jockey, riding his first winner, Bold Faith, trained by Willie Musson, in a lowly Class E handicap, restricted to gentleman amateur riders, at Newbury on June 11, 1998. All told, he rode five winners from 21 rides, at a strike rate of 24%, culminating in victory for Gymcrak Flyer, trained by Gordon Holmes, in a similar race at Beverley on August 13.

Holmes said later that he considered Jacobs ‘a very good amateur to use’ and he was right, insofar as ‘Jacobs’ was, in fact, was former American professional jockey Angel Monserrate. Investigation by the British Amateur Jockeys’ Association revealed that Monserrate had ridden professionally in the United States before being banned after failing a drugs test in 1995. The following year, he adopted the pseudonym ‘Carlos Castro’ and began riding as an amateur, but he was exposed as an imposter by a former employer at Aqueduct Racetrack in New York after riding a winner, arrested and taken away in handcuffs.

Once his latest attempt at subterfuge was revealed, the Jockey Club took a dim view of his actions, disqualifying all five of his winners on the grounds that he was ineligible for races restricted to amateur riders, suspending his licence with immediate effect and later, banning him for ten years. Following his hearing at Portman Square, Monserrate declined to comment but, speaking on his behalf, his wife, Lisa, said later, ‘He just loves riding racehorses and was desperate to carry on. In amateur races he gets paid no money.’

Sir Anthony Peter McCoy, who was awarded a knighthood in the 2016 New Year Honours in recognition of his services to horse racing, was a force majeure in British National Hunt Racing for two decades. Champion conditional jockey in 1994/95, McCoy went on to become senior champion jockey for the next 20 seasons running or, in other words, every year he rode as a professional. In 2001/02, while stable jockey to Martin Pipe, McCoy enjoyed his most successful season, numerically, with 289 winners, thereby beating the previous record for the number on winners ridden in a season, 269, set by Sir Gordon Richards in 1947.

At the time of his retirement, aged 40, in April, 2015, he had ridden a total of 4,348 winners under National Hunt Rules in Britain and Ireland, making him far and away the most successful jump jockey in history, 543 winners ahead of his nearest pursuer, Richard Johnson, who did not retire from the saddle until April, 2021. McCoy rode his first winner, of any description, Legal Steps, trained by Jim Bolger, in a maiden race at Thurles on March 26, 1992, as a 10lb claimer.

However, following his arrival in England, as conditional jockey to the Toby Balding, McCoy opened his account – deputising for the injured Mick Fitzgerald – on Chickabiddy, trained by Gordon Edwards, in a handicap hurdle at Exeter on September 7, 1994. Reflecting on his initial success on British soil, McCoy said, ‘I was very lucky that Gordon gave me the ride and she won to get the ball rolling.’ That she did, and the ball kept rolling until April 17, 2015, when McCoy partnered his last winner, Capard King, trained by Jonjo O’Neill, in a novices’ handicap hurdle at Ayr.