Lester Piggott a horse called "The Chase" at Haydock Park. Piggott is known for his quiet demeanour. He describes his mother as wisely downplaying his success, while his father rarely gave advice unless there had been a particular mistake. By his teens a sensation in the racing world, he rode his first winner of The Derby on Never Say Die in 1954 aged 18 years and went on to win eight more, on Crepello (1957), St. Paddy (1960), Sir Ivor (1968), Nijinsky (1970), Roberto (1972), Empery (1976), The Minstrel (1977) and Teenoso (1983). He was stable jockey to Noel Murless and later
Beldale Flutter weeks and ruled him out of the Derby. Jarvis later admitted that Beldale Flutter was unlikely to have beaten Shergar in the Derby, but said that, "it would still have been nice to finish second". After a break of three months, Beldale Flutter returned in the Benson and Hedges Gold Cup at York, in which he was matched against older horses for the first time. He started at odds of 9/1 in a field of nine runners, with the four-year-old Master Willie being made the 5/2 favourite. Lester Piggott set a steady pace on Kirtling, with Eddery settling Beldale Flutter