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Johnjdonoghue.<br>I guess Lester was just a very lucky guy. Maybe one should hire lucky guys instead of whiners. Look at Lester’s race and say coming around horses was not an option. Cash that day used what you called the only optionand ended up nowhere. Mike neither went around horses nor up the rail; he chose the only real "not an option" and payed for it.
I am not critising American or European jockeys…………all I am saying is I doubt if all the horses on Saturday night were ridden by Americans would have broken any quicker. Its the training not the jockeys……….but that is not to say the training should change just for the sake of one race at the end of the year.
John J Donoghue and Ben More – re Lester on Royal Academy.
YES – Lester WAS impeded just as he was building momentum. The horse stumbled as he came out of the final turn and would have won easier only for that. Lester mentioned to Brough Scott afterwards that he thought RA may have put his foot in a hole. I have to admit that I wondered what the hell Lester was talking about but when I saw the replay from a different (side on) angle, it was clear that he stumbled. So the answer is YES – and he still won.
As for coming round the outside – he didn’t come wide and 2nd last like MJK did! He was tracking the leaders and was in the first 6 or 7 as far as I can recall and so even though he was on the outer as he came out of the final turn he was well positioned until he lost that momentum.
Brian. Thanks for refreshing the memory of one of the greatest rides I ever saw. I recall now the stumble.
Still get shivers down my spine when I think of that ride. Surely Piggott’s finest hour? Along with Roberto’s Derby, The Minstrel’s Derby, Alleged’s 1st Arc, and about a hundred other great rides!
For me though Belmont 1990 shades the rest.
My favourite Piggott ride (aside from that night) was when he won the King George on Teenoso, beating Sadlers Wells. I’ve never seen it since, and although I was only 13, I remember being confident that it was the ride of a genius at the time.
It was – thanks for reminding me. I’d love to see it again myself. In fact wouldn’t it be great to have a "Lester’s Greatest 50 races" video? I know there is the video of his personal favourites but that is not the same as races that only he could have won.
Rory, Was that the day where he got off and walked his horse to the shade under a tree on a very hot day while the starter was disqualifying a French horse for not declaring some gear or other? I must be getting old! Maybe that was another day when he used someone’s pacemaker.
BenMore,
I’m not sure about the hot day, but he beat a top class field that day, made up of the likes of Sadlers Wells (Irish 2000 Guineas, Eclipse), Sun Princess (Oaks), Time Charter (Oaks, Champion Stakes, Coronation Cup, King George), Tolomeo (Arlington Million), Darshaan (Criterium de St Cloud, Prix du Jockey Club)  and Jupiter Island (Hardwicke Stakes, Japan Cup). ÂÂÂ
Sun Princess had a pacemaker but Piggott, realising that his horse’s strong suit was stamina, bounced Teenoso out of the stalls and straight into the lead; he then continued to harry the pacemaker until he cracked and then kicked again off the home turn to get his pursuers in trouble, outstaying Sadlers Wells in the last furlong to win by a couple of lengths – it was a truly magnificent feat and I can’t think of another jockey who could have won on Geoff Wragg’s colt that day.
Although he won the Derby, I doubt that Teenoso would have finished in the first four in that King George in ordinary circumstances, and I wonder how much Lester added to his stud value.
AIDAN<br>I have to disagree with you on one point. Most 2yo should not be trained to settle at the gate. Many trackes even in ireland do not have straight 5to7 furlong courses, This means a bend will be coming up soon. If you cannot get out of the gate smartly you will be caught when the bend arrives.This is clear in Galway, Ballinrobe, Wexford, Gowran and many other courses. Most races up to a mile with a bend are the same. I know Chester is an extreme case but it is a good example of what I am talking about
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