Lester Piggott, arguably the greatest flat jockey of all time, has died. Aged 86, he had been in poor health in recent years and was being treated in hospital in Switzerland.

Winner of the Derby a remarkable nine times, Piggott was champion jockey in Britain 11 times and won 30 British classics.

He is also revered in Irish racing for his association with master trainer Vincent O'Brien. Four of his Derby winners were trained in Tipperary by O'Brien.

Borin the village of Wantage in Cheshire, Piggott won his first race aged just 12 on a horse trained by his father, Ernie Keith Piggott. He quickly made a name for himself and won his first Derby at 18 years of age on Never Say Die in 1954.

Nicknamed the ‘Long Fellow’ due to his noteworthy height for a flat racing jockey (5ft 7½ in), Piggott’s first winner came at the age of just 12 at Haydock Park in 1948.In a remarkable career spanning almost 50 years, he rode 4,493 winners, including countless all-time greats of the turf, among them the likes of Nijinsky, the most recent horse to win the Triple Crown, comprising the 2000 Guineas, Derby and St Leger in 1970.

In 1980 his association with Vincent O'Brien ended and he rode for Henry Cecil for a period, before going freelance.

He retired in 1985 and became a trainer briefly, a spell which ended with Piggott serving a a year in prison for tax offences.

Incredibly Piggott made a comeback as a jockey in 1990 and, teaming up with Vincent O'Brien, he famously rode Royal Academy to win the Breeders' Cup Mile.

Piggott finally retired from race-riding in 1994. He remained close to racing though public appearances and through his daughter Maureen who is married to trainer William Haggas.

He had a health scare in 2007 but recovered well enough to attend several big racemeetings in 2008.

A statue of Lester Piggott was unveiled at the Curragh just last weekend.