F EATURE JUMP RACING DYNASTIES
Keith Piggott, here with his son Lester, followed his own father, Ernest, into Jump racing, having success as both rider and trainer over the years
Lester Piggott is best known for Flat racing, especially his nine Derby wins, but even he had victory in Jump racing, winning the 1954 Triumph Hurdle
in 1981, when he was looking for a replacement for the injured Jonjo O’Neill. Eventually the trainer settled on using John Francome as a very able substitute. Easterby himself heads the greatest family dynasty in the north of England. During his career he sent out 13 Cheltenham Festival winners including Alverton (1979) and Little Owl (1981) in the Cheltenham Gold Cup, plus Saucy Kit (1967), Night Nurse (1976 and 1977) and Sea Pigeon (1980 and 1981) in the Champion Hurdle. Following his retirement in 1996, he handed over the reins to his son Tim, who although now more focused on Flat racing, has enjoyed Festival success with Barton in the 1999 renewal of what is now the Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle and with Hawk High in the 2014 Fred Winter Juvenile Handicap Hurdle. For good measure, Peter’s brother Mick, currently Britain’s oldest licensed trainer at the age of 90, has also sent out a winner at Jump racing’s most prestigious event with Peterhof in the 1976 Triumph Hurdle. Ginger McCain (1930-2011) saddled the great Red Rum to success in the Grand National on a record three occasions (1973, 1974 and 1977), and by the time of his fourth Grand National victory with Amberleigh House in 2004, son Donald was already
scheme of the season but it remains a fine example of how racing families strive to keep the sport in their blood. Take Lester Piggott, who history will remember as the most famous jockey of all time. And although it was in Flat racing that Lester is best remembered, notably for his record nine Derby winners, his family traditions were firmly in the ‘winter game’. His grandfather Ernest (1878–1967) was champion Jump jockey on three occasions and rode three Grand National winners on Jerry M (1912) and Poethlyn (1918, substitute race at Gatwick and 1919 at Aintree). And his father Keith (1904-1993) followed in his footsteps, riding the 1939 Champion Hurdle heroine African Sister and training Ayala to success in the 1963 Grand National. Even Lester himself made a small impact on Jump racing, winning the Triumph Hurdle (then run at the now defunct Hurst Park) on Prince Charlemagne in 1954. While Lester only mixed Flat and Jump racing in the very early stages of his career, trainer Peter Easterby has revealed that he came close to getting the legendary jockey in the saddle for the second of the great Sea Pigeon’s Champion Hurdle victories
We’ve got fond memories here and it’s a race we’ve been trying to win for a while
THE JOCKEYCLUB . CO . UK 9
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