How many times did Lester Piggott win the Derby?

Lester Piggott rode his first winner, The Chase, at Haydock Park in 1948, at the age of just 12, and his last, Palacegate Jack, at the same Merseyside course in 1994, at the age of 59. In total, Piggott rode 4,493 winners, including 30 English Classic winners.

On his first ride in the Derby, as a precocious 15-year-old, in 1951 – long before the introduction of starting stalls – Piggott failed to make much of an impact when he was left at the start on the talented, but mulish, Zucchero. However, he opened his account in the Epsom Classic three years later, aboard Never Say Die, whose victory, at 33/1, made him the youngest jockey ever to win the Derby.

Further success followed, aboard the heavily backed favourite Crepello in 1957 and the ‘underrated’ St. Paddy in 1960, but by the time of his fourth Derby win, aboard the odds-on Sir Ivor, in 1968, Piggott had perfected the short, ‘bent hairpin’ riding style that became his trademark. His next two Derby winners, Nijinsky – who became the last horse to win the coveted ‘Triple Crown’ – in 1970 and Roberto in 1972, both started favourite, but his seventh Derby winner, Empery in 1976, was not expected by anyone, including Piggott himself, to beat the favourite, Wollow. He did, comfortably, and his victory, at 10/1, made Piggott the most successful jockey in the history of the Derby.

‘The Long Fellow’ – as Piggott was affectionately known – was not finished yet, though, winning the Derby again on The Minstrel in 1977 and Teenoso in 1983. Piggott rode in the Derby six more times, without success, but his career record of nine wins from 36 rides may never be beaten.

What is a martingale?

A martingale is piece of equipment, or tack, used in a variety of equestrian disciplines, to prevent a horse from throwing its head in the air. In so doing, it protects the rider from being hit in the face and prevents the horse from lifting its head beyond the angle at which it can be safely controlled. The two most popular types of martingale are known as a ‘standing martingale’ and a ‘running martingale’.

The standing martingale is effectively a strap that attaches a cavesson or flash nose band at one end to the girth or breastplate at the other. It works by putting pressure on the nose. A standing martingale is, however, more restrictive and potentially more dangerous than a running martingale and is forbidden in the cross-country phase of eventing competitions.

A running martingale consists of a chest strap, which passes between the front legs and attaches to the girth, before splitting into two. At the end of each strap is a ring, through which the reins pass, and the split strap is held in position by an adjustable neck strap. The running martingale works by applying downward pressure on the mouth, rather than the nose, and is popular for jumping or riding cross-country. However, it must be used in conjunction with rein stops, which prevent the rings of the martingale from becoming entangled with the bit or reins.

Confusingly, Martingale, with a capital ‘M’, is also the name of a theoretically perfect, but practically fatally flawed – and, in fact, downright dangerous – betting ‘system’. Martingale is a negative progression system for games of chance with a nominally 50% chance of winning or losing, such as betting on red or black, or odd or even, in roulette. The idea is that you start each cycle by betting a single unit stake, bet a single unit stake every time you win and double your stake every time you lose. Theoretically, every time you win, you win enough to cover your losses and make a profit of a single unit stake.

However, Martingale perpetuates the common gamblers’ fallacy that a succession of, say, red numbers on a roulette wheel means that a black number is more likely to occur. Of course, each spin of a roulette wheel is independent, so a black number is no more likely to occur on, say, the tenth spin than it is on the first, regardless of what has happened in between. If you had an infinite bankroll and a bookmaker or casino with an infinite payout, Martingale would be perfect but, in the real world, has no merit whatsoever. Even a losing run of six bets leaves you with the prospect of betting 64 times your original unit stake to make a profit of just one unit, still with no guarantee of success, so avoid Martingale like the plague.

What is an open ditch?

The term ‘open ditch’ is used to describe a type of obstacle jumped during a steeplechase race. As the name suggests, an open ditch consists of a shallow ditch, several feet wide, in front of what is, effectively, a ‘plain’ fence. Like other plain fences, the fence consists of compacted birch cuttings, bound and placed in a rigid wooden or steel frame, and must be at least 4’6” in height. However, a plain fence typically has width, or spread, of about 8’, but the addition of the ditch increases the spread to about 11’, requiring horses to jump further than at a plain fence. Under the Rules of Racing, one in six of the obstacles in a steeplechase race must be an open ditch.

What is the purpose of starting stalls?

In British Flat racing, horses compete over a minimum of five furlongs, a distance that they can cover in less than a minute, so it is imperative, ideally, that all the horses start together, in as straight a line as possible. Consequently, the vast majority of Flat races in Britain are started via numbered starting stalls. Nevertheless, it may surprise you to learn that starting stalls were not introduced in Britain until 1965.

Starting stalls feature an electromechanical release system, operated by a single button which, when pressed by the starter, unlocks the spring-loaded mechanism on the front door of each stall, causing them all to spring open simultaneously. They can horses to become claustrophobic and unruly but, even so, add a level of precision and predictability to the start of a Flat race. Previously, a system of five wires, suspended at head height, was used and, before that, a system of flags, which inevitably led to numerous false starts.

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