Royal Academy- 1990 Breeders Cup Mile

[timpinn]

Lester was the best. Simple as that. There has never been a jockey quite like him and there will not be another in the future. Those of us who were lucky enough to see him in action are privileged in so many ways. He was the Maestro, the best we will ever see. If my words are not enough, simply ask and jockey or trainer and they will confirm it

[ItsMeOfficially]

Royal Academy? Yeah I owned his son! Blue Cascade3 (IRE) :D :D :D

[penelopeb123]

Ive just inherited a painting of Royal Academy with Lester up and wanted to remind myself of what their greatest achievement was. Here it is! Superb. Rick the Yid.

[sweetypie000]

All horse death on the track since 13 March 2007 where the jockey is L F Dettori that had to be destroyed on the day -

Rewilding

Regal Entrance

Film Score (USA)

Veracity

Queens Speech

Mariotto (USA)

R.I.P

Another SIX horses have died on UK horsetracks since Rewilding and this comment and people think it's not a cruel 'sport' ?

we are supposed to be a nation of animal lovers

[blkbruv]

i watch this with tears in my eyes..lesters a genius!!.graham goode was bias...even the cameramans a lester fan..lol

some of the comments about lester getting horse's home by sure brilliance of mind and horsemanship and its all true cos NOBODY on this planet would have gotten this horse home that day...i repeat NOBODY

[ComteLafon]

I watch this every so often and have to pinch myself in disbelief. What makes a jockey truly great is not caring what anyone else thinks. They'll do it their way. Fallon's got it, McCoy's got it. But Lester had it the best. The way he simply doesn't worry about getting an early position says it all: he knew there was only one way RA might win and rode him that way. If it had gone wrong, Lester would have just shrugged. But - it went right. He won. And Lester smiled - a special moment.

[malcs0]

One of the greatest big race rides of all time. The background stories to this are amazing. Classic Thoroughbreds, the owners of the horse, were O'Brien's principal backers at the time and they needed Royal Academy to win this in order to not go bust. Royal Academy's victory also also vitally important for Lester's comeback in 1990 because a lot of Racing people thought it wasn't for real. Both horse and rider HAD to win.

[BungalowBilly1]

thats why he will allways be the greatest jockey ever

[tigerarmyrule]

@BungalowBilly1 Piggott is simply unarguably the top jock. 9 Derbies speak for themselves. Simply untouchable.

[greggles1902]

@BungalowBilly1 mccoy is the greatest jock ever to draw breath....the races he has pulled out of the fire surpasses anything any other jock does.

[bhoy029]

i will never get tired of watching this race, prob. my favourite flat race ever. Lester at 93 and still better than the rest :)

[Wallyhorse]

This was a great race, but that day was marred by the two spills earlier in the day that claimed Mr. Nickerson and Go For Wand. Those spills truly marred the 1990 BC.

[hustler8799]

trained by the genius vincent o brien

[Damotf]

thats what you call a ride and a half!

[TopRobbo1970]

Now that's how to ride a finish!

[gre812u]

simply the best!

[AllanWellsfanclub]

I'll never forget this race.  You couldn't have made it up.

[welshnick300365]

And its Lester Piggott on the inside ..... yes he's still on the inside and can't get out ....... thats right, inside prison for tax evasion !!!!

[johlufc]

One more thing needs to be pointed out,Lester was 55 yrs old when he won his race!

[kleinbogen]

Back in early 80s, I witnessed Lester's magic in Hong Kong. He wrote an 11 year old horse named Nazkrat in the stretch and was passed by a very nice 4 year old colt. Somehow he squeezed that last drop from the old horse and retook the lead and won the race. You don't see that from a old horse. They usually are done when passed by a better and younger horse. It was eye-opening. Although it was a minor stakes race but that was the best race I have ever seen.

[gayer999]

WHAT. A. RIDE.

[bootlehistory]

best jockey inthe world

[antmusic76]

Dont get me wrong frankie dettorie, jonny murtagh, hayley turner all very good jockeys. Its even great to see kieron fallon back. But Lester had a true feeling for the horse, he knew exactly where he had to put them according to the race and the conditions, a true genius who will take some beating as the best jockey of all time.

[nellie1912]

Considering Gordon Richards retired in 1952 the year Pat Eddery was born they never rode against each other.

[DamienCaffrey]

lol. You've done your homework i see lol

[Kellypaulleic]

Like a good ganger film they come back for one more crack at the big time o'brien piggott Sanger yr the best thanks

[ciaranspiddal]

fairytale stuff

[marcusallcock]

Royal Academy had pace to burn it was just a matter of if he would stay the mile.

[kezanator123]

What a comeback by Lester. I hate when the english dudes claim he was an english horse when he clearly was Irish

[Pactrolus]

I take your point, but aren't all thoroughbreds English really?

[brendanweldon]

I always remember Jim Mc in the afternoon saying "Royal Academy would not win if he set off now"

[nuipret]

are you talking about jim mcgrath?

if so, he's a con man and a liar and a cheat.

NEVER trust a man who talks to you with his eyes closed.

mcgrath does this all the time. i kid you not. look at him the next time you see him talking on tv.

as conniving as a box of monkeys.

avoid him like the plague.

[shawn415]

Great race. I have seen better race calls but it was a good race by both Royal Academy and Itsallgreektome. Even though I like 'Greek better... I have always hated C. Nakatani as a jock. That guy is a fucking dick.

[TopRobbo1970]

This is one of my all time sporting memories. What a comeback from Lester! I can't believe it was almost 19 years ago!

[apostlecreed]

what a night i will never forget it.the best part of this is graham goode the comentator's reaction after the race,you have cut it short for some strange reason.any chance of uploading the rest it briano?

[Briano696969]

Ill have a look but thats all I have at the moment sorry.

[TheTibbsy007]

This was a fairytale, undoubtedly the greatest jockey ever, showing his class, and cracking commentary from Graham Goode. Lester lost a knighthood for tax evasion even though he dealt with accountants and wasnt the most finacially aware man around yet dirty bastards like Ken Dodd who knew exactly what they were doing kept his obe, nothing to do with him being a royal favourite!! If there was any justice he should get his knighthood back!!!

[nuipret]

no one but lester would have won on royal academy. he stood alone when it came to the artistry of horsemanship.forget your top yank jocks,lester was much taller than ALL of the worlds leading flat jockeys.he was riding at around 2 stones under his natural weight and yet he was unbeatable at riding a finish.we'll never see the likes of him again and so thank you to all who post his races.

[Briano696969]

Ill see can I get any more of him, Im searching for the Washington International he won on Sir Ivor, that was pure magic

[nuipret]

sir ivor's washington international race is already on yt mate. the LOST one is lester riding KARABAS (he won) in the '68(i think) washington international..i can't get that anywhere. thanks a lot for posting.

[nuipret]

you have taken my comment on lester in the wrong context pal.

i said lkp was unbeatable at riding a finish because he WAS unbeatable, meaning there was no on better at riding a finish than him.

i have never said it in the context of him winning every tight finish that he was ever involved in.!

that would be ridiculous! i'm surprised you couldn't see my real meaning! he was the worlds greatest jockey ..by a long way. and forget the rest, they never had to starve like lester did.

[Spaceweed10]

Fabulous ride by Lester, however, he wasn't 'unbeatable' in a finish - that's just one of many overused phrases which are never true.

Watch the 1970 Arc for details.

[tigerarmyrule]

@nuipret I totally agree. Look at the Derby finishes on Roberto and The Minstrel. Look at him kidding Sir Ivor, pacing Alleged, etc etc etc. The incomparable and absolutely unquestioned maestro of the saddle. The Greatest.

[bigttim1]

@nuipret Yes Le Pig is certainly uncomparable and without doubt the greatest big race jockey of alltime. A true living legend.

[nuipret]

@bigttim1 yeah bigtim. the day lester had his last ride was the day racing took a nosedive and lost most of its appeal for me. where are the charactes today? there's no more lester and his great and exciting race tactics, no more scobie breasley and his sweeping late runs,no more greville starkey and his dog barking. these are just a few.

i'm sorry to say that the jocks of today are a pretty much uninspiring lot compared to the 60's and 70's boys. even frankies dismount is tame.

[kleinbogen]

@nuipret ---You are absolutely right about Lester Piggot. When I was 15, I saw him riding an 11 year old horse who got outran by a 4 year old (ridden by Tony Cruz) on the stretch and miraculously Lester got one last drop of that old horse and came back and won by a nose. That was just incredible!!! Hats off to a master. It happened in Hong Kong in 1982/3. I wish I could see that video again.

[nuipret]

@kleinbogen that sounds a great race to watch again and again.

i have all lester's big race wins on video (well. nearly all) and i never ire of watching the world's breatest jockey do his stuff and prove to the world that lkp was and always will remain the greatest tactician and judge of pace the racing world will ever see.(and no one better at riding a finish.)

o'brian,murless,sangster,cecil­... and the pig.....GLORY DAYS.

[kleinbogen]

@nuipret ----- If you were going to recommend few videos of Piggot that show his amazing skills. What races would you direct me to see? Thanks in advance.

[nuipret]

@kleinbogen gimme a day or two and i'll do that mate. but another race that piggott rode a brilliant race was when hw won the arc on alleged FROM THE FRONT. the other jocks thought lester would come back to them but lester kept a bit more horse under him than they thought and he kept alleged there to the winning post.

it's undeniable that ONLY lester would won on horses that any other jock in the world would have been beaten on.

[nuipret]

@kleinbogen also go to the roberto derby on youtube mate. watch lester with about ten yards to go and THWACK THWACK THWACK as he gets roberto up to pip rheingold.

and the minstrel derby from 1977 (again on youtube), ester and willie carson. only lester could have won either derby here.

[vegas2401]

Amazing , brilliant,Lester at his best

[bigpaulothe1st]

graham goode quite right to be biased , lesters one of us .

[blazeingglory]

gut vid

[Briano696969]

Thanks, probably the best ride, by a European at least in the Breeders Cup

[bigpaulothe1st]

sends a shiver up the spine . brilliant lester.