Champion jockey Lester Piggott, 84, sells trophies from his 4,493 career wins and memorabilia including racing goggles and riding cap for £112,000 at auction
- He had expected to earn 80,000 from the sale of the 70 trophies and other items
- The auction also featured trophies won by his father Keith and grandfather Ernie
- Auctioneer Graham Budd said Mr Piggott was watching the sale via online feed
Champion jockey Lester Piggott has sold trophies and other prized mementos from his illustrious career for £112,000.
The horse racing legend had expected to earn around £80,000 from the sale of the 70 trophies and personal items.
But the bumper profit exceeded the 84-year-old’s expectations, who was crowned champion jockey 11 times between 1960 and 1982.
Mr Piggott consigned his prized possessions for sale after having a clear out at his home in Newmarket, Suffolk, to fund his retirement.
The marquee lots were his 1957 and 1960 Epsom Derby winner’s trophies which fetched £23,500 and £20,000 respectively at Graham Budd Auctions, of London.
Lester Piggott takes the former top steeple chaser Desert Orchid round the parade ring at Wincanton prior to the days racing
They had both been expected to go for £7,000 but stormed past everyone’s preditions at the auction which took place at Graham Budd Auctions in London.
Piggott’s 2,000 Guineas prize from 1985 went for £1,600, while his 1992 prize sold for £2,000.
He also parted with his 1957 and 1963 Ascot Gold Cups as well as other awards to acknowledge his 4,493 career wins.
A commemorative trophy he received after achieving 4,000 wins fetched £3,100, with his BBC TV Lifetime Achievement award making £1,000.
Piggott’s trophies and other prized mementos from his illustrious career sold for £112,000 at Graham Budd Auctions, of London exceeding everyone’s expectations
Six signed cigar boxes of his were snapped up for £180, and his racing googles went for £165.
The auction also featured trophies won by his father Keith and grandfather Ernie during their own distinguished horse racing careers.
The 1963 Grand National trophy awarded to Keith Piggott who trained Ayala sold for £8,900.
A jockey’s trophy for the 1919 Grand National won by Ernie Piggott on Poethlyn went for £9,400.
The Lifetime Achievement in Sport award presented by BBC TV Sport (pictured) was sold for £1,000
Graham Budd, of Graham Budd Auctions, said the sale total was £112,680 including fees, comfortably surpassing his £70,000 estimate.
He said Piggott was watching an online feed of the sale from his home abroad and would have been ‘delighted’ with the result.
Mr Budd said: ‘Lester is in his 80s and has accumulated a wealth of stuff from his career so he has been sorting out what to keep and what to let go.
‘I do not normally like to use the description but he really is a living legend.
His racing goggles (pictured) went for £165. His UK Team jockey cap silk for the 1982 Sandown Salver jockey’s competition sold for £1,000
‘We know he was following the auction on the internet and are quite sure he will be delighted with the results.’
Mr Piggott’s family have been involved in racing since the Victorian era.
He was affectionately known as the Longfellow because of his 5ft 8in frame, won two 1000 Guineas, five 2000 Guineas and nine Epsom Derbies during his career.
He raced from the age of 18 and only retired when he reached 60 years old in 1995 – 41 years later.
There was a brief pause in his career when he was jailed for 366 days for tax evasion in 1987.
Mr Piggott moved to Switzerland with his partner Lady Barbara FitzGerald in 2012. He is still married to, but seperated from, his wife of 70 years Susan Armstrong.