Frankel & Lester Piggott: New racing hall of fame welcomes first inductees
- Published
The first two inductees of a new racing hall of fame have been announced
Legendary racehorse Frankel and record-breaking jockey Lester Piggott have been announced as the first two inductees in a new racing hall of fame.
Frankel won all 14 of his races, including a blistering 2,000 Guineas win 10 years ago and is now a sire who commands a stud fee of £175,000 a time.
Piggott was champion 11 times and won the Derby at Epsom on nine occasions.
"Frankel brought electricity and excitement to racing," said Lady Jane Cecil, widow of trainer Sir Henry.
She told BBC Sport: "He was exceptional on a regular basis. You run out of superlatives."
Launched to mark the 10th anniversary of the Qipco British Champions Series, the first official hall of fame for British flat racing sets out to immortalise the modern greats of the sport from 1970 onwards.
Piggott, now aged 85 and based in Switzerland, won 30 British Classic races in a career which yielded 4,493 winners.
"I feel fortunate to have spent many brilliant years riding such incredible horses and I'm touched to see my story so well preserved through this initiative," he said.
"The hall of fame is a terrific concept. Our sport has such an incredible history and I hope this provides an opportunity for many others to learn about it."
Piggott came out of retirement after serving a prison sentence for tax offences and memorably won the Breeders' Cup Mile aged 54 on Royal Academy.
Frankel provided the compelling final chapter of another great racing career as trainer Cecil oversaw success while seriously ill with cancer, before the Newmarket trainer died in 2013.
"Lester was a one-off who came back too," said Lady Jane.
"Henry would have been thrilled about Frankel. Not only was he a brilliant racehorse, but he is a fantastic sire."
Frankel's most visually stunning performance came when he was a runaway winner of the Guineas in April 2011 under regular partner Tom Queally for owner Prince Khalid Abdullah.
Lady Jane added: "Although I knew about the tactics I wasn't prepared for that, it was astonishing. There was applause even before he reached the furlong pole."
Sheikh Fahad, director of sponsors Qipco with Frankel, and Lester Piggott with his hall of fame medal