Champion jockey Roy Higgins has died in a Melbourne hospital aged 75 after a short illness. Higgins rode the first of Bart Cummings' Melbourne Cup winners, Light Fingers, in 1965 and added a second Cup for the master trainer two years later on Red Handed. An 11-time Melbourne premiership winner, Higgins is one of a handful of riders to win Australian racing's grand slam of the Golden Slipper, Cox Plate, Caulfield Cup and Melbourne Cup. He retired in 1983 after battling to remain at a light weight. Higgins retained an active interest in racing and in recent years had formed a partnership with Wylie Dalziel to syndicate horses.