Ernest Piggott
Encyclopedia
Ernest Piggott (1878–1967) was a leading British
jump racing
jockey
, whose family has become one of the leading dynasties in British horseracing. He was three times Champion Jockey
and three times Grand National
winner. His son, (Ernest) Keith Piggott (1904–1993), was also a leading jump jockey and National-winning trainer
, while his grandson is the 11-times British flat racing Champion Jockey
, Lester Piggott
.
and France
. He was champion jockey in France before returning to England where he won the 1910 British jump jockey championship with 67 winners. At the time this was the joint-record number of winners, although it was superseded the following year. His two other championships came in 1913 and 1915.
had been commandeered by the War Office
) that Piggott got a follow-up success with Poethlyn. The same horse gave him his third and final National victory back at Aintree in 1919 when it went off 11/4 favourite, the shortest priced winner in the history of the race. In so doing, he became the first jockey to win three Grand Nationals since Arthur Nightingall in 1901. Piggott also notably rode the 14-year-old Manifesto into third place in the 1902 National under a weight of . This made it the oldest horse ever to have been placed in the National up to that point, and it remains the only horse ever to have been placed carrying such a weight. He retired from the saddle in 1920 and trained for twenty years at Letcombe Regis
from the following year, dying in hospital at Oxford
on 13 March 1967 aged 88 .
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
jump racing
National Hunt racing
National Hunt racing is the official name given to the sport of horse racing in the United Kingdom, France and Ireland in which the horses are required to jump over obstacles called hurdles or fences...
jockey
Jockey
A jockey is an athlete who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing.-Etymology:...
, whose family has become one of the leading dynasties in British horseracing. He was three times Champion Jockey
British jump racing Champion Jockey
In Great Britain's National Hunt racing, the title of Champion Jockey is bestowed on the jockey who has ridden the most winning horses during a racing season. From its inception in 1900 through to 1925, the award was given to the jockey who had ridden the most winners during a calendar year...
and three times Grand National
Grand National
The Grand National is a world-famous National Hunt horse race which is held annually at Aintree Racecourse, near Liverpool, England. It is a handicap chase run over a distance of four miles and 856 yards , with horses jumping thirty fences over two circuits of Aintree's National Course...
winner. His son, (Ernest) Keith Piggott (1904–1993), was also a leading jump jockey and National-winning trainer
Horse trainer
In horse racing, a trainer prepares a horse for races, with responsibility for exercising it, getting it race-ready and determining which races it should enter...
, while his grandson is the 11-times British flat racing Champion Jockey
British flat racing Champion Jockey
The Champion Jockey of flat racing in Great Britain is the jockey who has ridden the most winning horses during a season. The list below shows the Champion Jockey and the number of winners for each year since 1840...
, Lester Piggott
Lester Piggott
Lester Keith Piggott is a retired English professional jockey, popularly known as "The Long Fellow". With 4,493 career wins, including nine Epsom Derby victories, he is one of the most well-known English flat racing jockeys of all time....
.
Jockey Championships
Piggott began his English riding career in the late 1890s but from 1905 was based for several years in BelgiumBelgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. He was champion jockey in France before returning to England where he won the 1910 British jump jockey championship with 67 winners. At the time this was the joint-record number of winners, although it was superseded the following year. His two other championships came in 1913 and 1915.
Grand National
His first Grand National victory came in 1912 on 4/1 joint favourite, Jerry M, trained by Robert Gore and owned by Sir Charles Assheton-Smith. Although this trainer-owner pair won the following year's National with Covertcoat, Piggott was not on board, and it wasn't until 1918, when the Grand National was held at Gatwick (as AintreeAintree Racecourse
Aintree Racecourse is a racecourse in Aintree, Merseyside, England.It was served by Aintree Racecourse railway station until the station closed in the 1960s....
had been commandeered by the War Office
War Office
The War Office was a department of the British Government, responsible for the administration of the British Army between the 17th century and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the Ministry of Defence...
) that Piggott got a follow-up success with Poethlyn. The same horse gave him his third and final National victory back at Aintree in 1919 when it went off 11/4 favourite, the shortest priced winner in the history of the race. In so doing, he became the first jockey to win three Grand Nationals since Arthur Nightingall in 1901. Piggott also notably rode the 14-year-old Manifesto into third place in the 1902 National under a weight of . This made it the oldest horse ever to have been placed in the National up to that point, and it remains the only horse ever to have been placed carrying such a weight. He retired from the saddle in 1920 and trained for twenty years at Letcombe Regis
Letcombe Regis
Letcombe Regis is a village and civil parish in the Vale of White Horse. It was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred the Vale of White Horse to Oxfordshire...
from the following year, dying in hospital at Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
on 13 March 1967 aged 88 .
External links
- http://www.findonvillage.com/0174_jerry_m_.htm - Jerry M, Piggott's first National winner
- http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=77583 - 1919 Grand National, British Pathe footage