'He was a legend' - Tributes paid to late racing great Lester Piggott

Willie Carson and Frankie Dettori have led the tributes to Lester Piggott, who died in Switzerland on Sunday morning at the age of 86. Carson and Piggott held sway on the track in the 1970s and 80s when both jockeys were in their pomp and five-times champion Carson said he felt like a part of him had died with the most iconic racing figure of the 20th century. "I feel as though I have lost part of my life in way, as Lester has been part of my life ever since I came into racing," said an emotional Carson.

"I came to his in-laws as an apprentice and he was part of my life right from the word go, until the end. He was an iconic figure in the horse racing world. He is a legend.

"We had the luck of some ding-dongs on the track and he was a person who made us all better - because we had to be better to beat him. We had to up our game to compete with him, because he was so magical on top of a horse." Piggott was known for his single-mindedness and was not averse to phoning up trainers to get rides he thought he could win on, regardless of the incumbent jockey. Carson added: "He was confident.

He had the confidence, because he didn't care about others, where normal people worry about doing the wrong thing. "That man, for some reason, never showed any pressure. He never seemed to be under any pressure.