The Lester Piggott 1969 Jockey Championship saddle, by Boyce & Rogers of Newmarket, set with a silvered plaque inscribed THIS IS THE SADDLE I USED WHE
£3,000 - £5,000
The Lester Piggott 1969 Jockey Championship saddle, by Boyce & Rogers of Newmarket, set with a silvered plaque inscribed THIS IS THE SADDLE I USED WHEN I WON THE JOCKEY CHAMPIONSHIP, 1969, then engraved with Lester Piggott's signature; sold with a signed manuscript letter from Lester Piggott dated October 30th [circa 1970] on ''Florizel'' writing paper, reading DEAR MR POWNALL, PLEASE ACCEPT MY SINCERE THANKS FOR BUYING MY SADDLE FOR ?150 IN AID OF THE STABLE LADS WELFARE TRUST. I CAN ASSURE YOU THAT THE MONEY WILL BE PUT TO GOOD USE FOR THE WELFARE OF STABLE LADS AND APPRENTICES THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY, YOURS SINCERELY, LESTER PIGGOTT, framed (2) Lester Piggott was Champion Jockey on eleven occasions between 1960 and 1982, including a sequence of 8 consecutive titles between 1964 and 1971. This saddle was from the 1969 Championship winning season when Lester rode a total of 163 winners. Major successes in this year would include the rides on Park Top (Coronation Cup & King George VI and The Queen Elizabeth Stakes), Wolver Hollow (Eclipse Stakes), Vital Match (Falmouth Stakes), Tower Walk (Nunthorpe Stakes) and Nijinsky (Dewhurst Stakes). Whilst in France Lester rode Breton (Gran Criterium), Tower Walk (Prix de l'Abbaye), Vela (Prix Marcel Boussac), Habitat (Prix du Moulin); and in the USA Lester won his second Washington DC International, aboard Karabas.