AN exhibition that celebrates the career of Lester Piggott will take place at the Curragh on Sunday, April 16th, to celebrate the first running of the Gladness Stakes to commemorate his legacy.

Curated by racing memorabilia collector Nick O’Toole, the exhibition will showcase a variety of fascinating memorabilia associated with the legendary jockey.

The Lester Piggott exhibition will take place on Level 1 of the grandstand and will include trophies, racecards, paintings, statues, prints and photographs.

Piggott enjoyed a very close association with the Curragh winning 16 Irish classics between 1965 and 1981, including the Irish Derby on Meadow Court (1965), Ribocco (1967), Ribero (1968), The Minstrel (1977) and Shergar (1981).

The association with the Gladness Stakes is very appropriate as not only did he ride Gladness to some of his most famous successes including the Ascot Gold Cup, the Goodwood Cup and the Ebor Handicap at York, but he also rode Minsky, Apalachee and Night Alert to victory in the race.

The Curragh unveiled a magnificent statue of the iconic jockey just before he passed away last May, which is located close to the parade ring.

Tracy Piggott commented: “The Piggott family are delighted that this special race is now being named after our father, Lester.

“We have some great memories of him winning at the Curragh, and it was so fitting to unveil his statue there last May.

“He always said that the Curragh was probably one of the best tracks he had ever ridden on during his very long career. We hope that everyone will enjoy the memories and memorabilia as much as we do.”