THE LONG RIDE HOME … LESTER PIGGOTT DIES AGED 86

Jockey legend Lester Piggott has died at the age of 86.

His career lasted almost 50 years and he rode almost 4,500 winners – the third highest record in British racing history beaten only Sir Gordon Richards and Pat Eddery,

He was crowned champion jockey 11 times and his name became synonymous with the Derby, which he won a record nine times, the tally part of a haul of 30 Classic successes.

But apart from his genius in the saddle, Piggott often, unwittingly, found himself in the limelight.

He courted controversy off the racetrack with a complex personal life and famously being jailed for tax evasion.

Lester started riding as a young boy and, remarkably, rode his first winner as a jockey in 1948, aged just 12 years old, on a horse called The Chase at Haydock Park.