PARIS: Legendary flat race jockey Lester Piggott has died aged 86 his son-in-law said on Sunday. The nine-time Epsom Derby winning jockey was admitted to hospital in Switzerland last weekend. “Sadly we can confirm that Lester died peacefully in Switzerland this morning,” said his son-in-law Williams Haggas. Piggott is widely regarded as the greatest jockey in the sport’s history, and had been admitted to intensive care in 2007 due to a heart problem, but made a swift recovery. ‘The Long Fellow’ as he was nicknamed — due to being unusually tall for a flat jockey — has lived near Geneva since 2012. Statues of Piggott adorn nine racecourses in England and only a week ago one was unveiled at Ireland’s premier racetrack The Curragh. The 11-time British champion jockey rode 16 Irish classic winners at the track largely due to his partnership with trainer Vincent O’Brien. The three-time Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winning jockey — who rode over 4,000 winners — was once known as the housewives’ favourite when it came to picking an Epsom Derby horse to back.