🔗 Share this article

It has been an exhilarating, magnificent and sometimes bumpy ride, yet now, it seems the famed jockey's mind is made up. The most celebrated rider over the last 40 years is set to enter retirement after the main card during the Breeders’ Cup in Del Mar on Saturday, where he has three opportunities to secure one last top-tier victory to his almost 300 already in his record. Racing may not witness a career quite like it again.

An Iconic Figure

Together with racing great Lester Piggott and maybe John McCririck over the past half-century, “Frankie” registers with pretty much everyone, without needing a last name. People know his identity, even if they possess absolutely no interest in what he does. In a world which has become fragmented by social media and online networks, Dettori could be the final equestrian personality that will ever experience such immediate brand recognition across a broad swathe of the British population.

His entire career in the sport, in fact, goes back to a time when the show A Question Of Sport often attracted more than 10 million viewers, and a three-year stint as a team leader was more than enough to establish him as the lively, unforgettable figure of the sport. His final year on the program was 2004, which was also the year when he secured the top jockey award for the third and final time. As far as many in the UK, however, he has probably been the champion in most years after that.

A Hard-Earned Fame

This is, in many ways, a hard-won celebrity, a double-edged reward for incidents on and off the racecourse which have often pushed Dettori into the headlines, ever since the unforgettable afternoon at Ascot in 1996 when he defied massive 25,000-1 odds to win all seven races that day.

In June 2000, he was rescued from the burning wreckage of a small plane by his fellow rider, Ray Cochrane, following an accident on takeoff in which the plane’s pilot was killed. When at last ended his quest for a Derby victory in 2007, that too was headline news.

And if everyone loves a winner, they frequently adore an imperfect hero and a return even more. A half-year suspension after a failed drug test for cocaine could have been the end of many riders in their forties, more than enough time for owners and trainers to seek a younger replacement. For Dettori, however, suspension in December 2012 served as a bridge to a renewed association with trainer John Gosden at Newmarket, and a new series of winners and Classic winners, including Enable, Golden Horn and Stradivarius.

Public Highs and Lows

The public highs and lows were a crucial element of Dettori’s story, right up until the embarrassing confession in March that he was filing for bankruptcy after a prolonged dispute with tax authorities over unpaid taxes, a circumstance that Dettori tried, and did not succeed, to keep confidential.

There have been numerous turns in his story, in fact, that it's easy to overlook that absent Dettori’s immense, once-in-a-generation skill, there would have been no narrative whatsoever.

Early Talent and Instincts

It was evident from his earliest days as a teenage apprentice that he had an instinctive rapport with the horses whenever Dettori was in the saddle.

Steeds performed for him, and improved for him. Back in 1990, he was the first teenager since Lester Piggott to reach 100 winners in one season, and also marked his emergence among the elite with a Group One double at Ascot, on the same day that he would charge without a loss only six years later. The famous flying dismount, copied from the US legend Angel Cordero Jr, was added to his routine in 1994, and the thrill from riding a big-race winner has never left him. Neither has the talent of knowing, with something akin to clairvoyance, where to sit, when to strike and where the gaps will appear.

What Comes Next?

But what next for the recognizable figure of British racing? It won't be simple to finally let go, whether or not Dettori fulfils his apparent desire to take “a few rides in South America, something that he always wanted to do”. This is not, after all, a goal that he had mentioned until now.

However, the disastrous choice to follow tax guidance that led to his dispute with HMRC means that he will not end his career with enough money saved up to relax and take things easy.

Fresh Ventures

He has been appointed to a new position as an international ambassador with the soccer agent Kia Joorabchian's growing Amo Racing enterprise. He explained to Matt Chapman on At The Races on Friday this was the main reason for his departure now, as well as being able to conclude at the Breeders’ Cup. “Such chances are rare, very often. I like the set-up – this is a young team with big ambitions,” said the rider.

Joorabchian personally, was gushing in his praise for his new recruit on Thursday at Del Mar. “He’s an icon, he is a true legend of the sport,” he stated. “When you talk about great sportsmen like LeBron James, Currys, Lionel Messi and Pelé and people like that, Frankie represents that to horse racing. When you go into Royal Ascot, you notice a statue, you realize that he’s made a big impact on so many lives worldwide.

“He’s not here|“He isn't here} to entertain people, he’s here to actually work and he will be working with us closely. He will be involved in every area of our business though he won't serve as a racing manager. He is an international ambassador.”

Reality TV is another possibility, though previous appearances on Big Brother and I’m A Celebrity … have tended to reveal a moodier side to Dettori’s character, beneath the cheerful public image. On both shows, he was an early exit of the public vote.

It may be that Dettori personally is unsure what he will do and how to spend his time after his riding career are over. And for at least one more day, he remains a top-level professional jockey, focused on three mounts at one of the globe's prestigious and dazzling events on the schedule.

One Last Mount

A five-year-old filly named Argine will be Dettori’s final Grade One mount in the Breeders’ Cup Mile, the same race in which he registered his initial Breeders’ Cup win in 1994. Her form at home indicates that she has something to improve to compete, yet few jockeys in history have ever risen to an occasion like Frankie Dettori.

One last time, cue Frankie?