On May 2, 1992, the late Lester Piggott rode Rodrigo De Triano, owned by the late Robert Sangster and trained by Peter Chapple-Hyam, to victory in the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket. In terms of the finish, the race was not especially memorable, with Piggott producing the son of Secreto to lead inside the final furlong before quickening clear for a routine, 1½-length defeat of 50/1 outsider Lucky Lindy.
However, the result would prove unforgettable for two reasons. Firstly, Rodrigo De Triano provided Piggott with the thirtieth and final Classic winner of his long, illustrious career at the age of 56. The outstanding jockey of the postwar era, ‘The Long Fellow’ had retired from the saddle for the first time in 1985, with over 4,000 winners to his name, including a record 29 English Classic winners. In 1987, he was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment for income tax evasion, as a result of which his OBE, previously awarded in 1975, was withdrawn. Piggott served a year in prison and two years after his release in 1988 came out of retirement to resume his career as a jockey.
Secondly, Rodrigo De Triano – who had already won the Middle Park Stakes at Newmarket as a two-year-old, when ridden by Willie Carson – provided Chapple-Hyam with the first Classic winner of his then-fledgling training career. Chapple-Hyam, 28, was in just his second season as private trainer to Sangster at Manton, near Marlborough, Wiltshire, having replaced Barry Hills in 1991.
The famously taciturn Piggott grinned from ear to ear on his return to the winners’ enclosure at Newmarket, while Sangster was equally ecstatic, exclaiming, “The oldest jockey in the race and the youngest trainer! I couldn’t be more thrilled.” Further delight was to follow for all concerned, with Rodrigo De Triano going on to win the Irish 2,000 Guineas at the Curragh, the International Stakes at York and the Champion Stakes at Newmarket later in his three-year-old campaign.