🔗 Share this article

The journey has been an exhilarating, glorious and sometimes bumpy ride, yet now, it appears Frankie Dettori's decision is final. The most storied rider over the last 40 years will effectively head into retirement after the main card at the Breeders’ Cup in Del Mar on Saturday, when he will have three chances to secure one last top-tier victory to nearly 300 already in his record. Racing may not see a career like his ever again.

A Household Name

Alongside racing great Lester Piggott and maybe John McCririck in the last 50 years, “Frankie” registers with pretty much everyone, without needing a last name. The public knows his identity, even if they have no interest at all in his profession. In today's world that has been divided by digital platforms and online networks, Dettori may well be the last racing figure that will ever enjoy such instant brand recognition among a wide segment of the British population.

His entire career in the sport, in fact, dates back to a time when the show A Question Of Sport often attracted over 10 million audience members, and a three-year stint as a team captain was sufficient to cement him as the lively, unforgettable figure of the sport. His last year on the show came in 2004, which was also the year when he won the top jockey award for a third and last occasion. For many in the UK, though, he has likely been the champion for many seasons after that.

A Hard-Won Celebrity

It is, in many ways, a hard-won celebrity, a mixed blessing for events both on and off the track that have repeatedly pushed Dettori onto the front pages, since that memorable day at Ascot in 1996 when he defied odds of 25,000-1 to win all seven races that day.

In June 2000, he was rescued from the burning wreckage of a small plane by fellow jockey, Ray Cochrane, after a crash on takeoff in which the plane’s pilot was killed. When he finally concluded his pursuit for a Derby winner in 2007, that too was headline news.

While everyone admires a champion, they frequently adore an imperfect hero and a comeback even more. A six-month ban following a positive drug test for cocaine would have been the end of many riders in their forties, plenty of time for trainers and owners to seek a younger replacement. For Dettori, though, suspension in December 2012 served as a bridge to a renewed association with John Gosden in Newmarket, and a fresh succession of champions and classic victors, including Enable, Golden Horn and Stradivarius.

Public Highs and Lows

The celebrated successes and setbacks were a crucial element of Dettori’s story, up to and including the humiliating admission this past March that he was filing for bankruptcy after a prolonged dispute with tax authorities over unpaid taxes, a circumstance that he attempted, and failed, to keep confidential.

There have been numerous turns to the tale, in fact, that it can be easy to overlook that without his tremendous, once-in-a-generation skill, there would have been no story at all.

Natural Ability

It was evident from the start as a teenage apprentice that he had a natural connection with the horses whenever Dettori was on board.

Horses ran for him, and got better under him. In 1990, he became the first teen since Lester Piggott to reach 100 winners in one season, and also marked his emergence among the elite with two Group One wins at Ascot, on the same day that he would charge through unbeaten only six years later. The famous flying dismount, copied from the American legend Angel Cordero Jr, was added to his routine in 1994, and the buzz from winning major races has never left him. Nor has the gift of knowing, with almost clairvoyance, where to position, when to strike and where openings will appear.

The Future Ahead

But what next for the recognizable figure of British racing? It will not be easy to step away completely, regardless if Dettori fulfils his expressed wish to accept some mounts in South America, something that he always wanted to experience”. This is not, in fact, a goal that he had mentioned previously.

But the calamitous decision to accept the tax advice that led to his tax issues means that he will not draw down the curtain with enough money in the bank to relax and take things easy.

New Role and Opportunities

He has already been appointed to a new position as a “global ambassador” with the football super-agent Kia Joorabchian's burgeoning Amo Racing operation. Dettori told Matt Chapman on At The Races on Friday this was the primary reason for his exit now, along with the chance to conclude at the Breeders’ Cup. “Such chances are rare, very often. I appreciate the structure – this is a young team with huge goals,” explained the jockey.

Joorabchian personally, was gushing in his praise for his new ambassador at Del Mar on Thursday. “He is an icon, he is a true legend in the sport,” Joorabchian said. “When you talk about great sportsmen such as LeBron James, Currys, Lionel Messi and Pelé and similar figures, Frankie represents that for horse racing. When you go into Royal Ascot, you see a statue there, you know that he’s made a big impact on so many lives across the world.

“He’s not here|“He isn't here} to amuse audiences, he's here to work and he will be collaborate with us closely. He will be involved in all aspects of our operations [but] he won’t be a racing manager. He is an international ambassador.”

Reality TV is another possibility, although earlier outings on Celebrity Big Brother and I’m A Celebrity … have tended to reveal a more somber aspect of his personality, beneath the cheerful public persona. In both programs, he was an early exit of the public vote.

It may be that Dettori personally is unsure what he'll do and how he will fill his time once his race-riding days are over. And for at least 24 hours at least, he stays an elite professional jockey, concentrating on three mounts at one of the most prestigious and dazzling events on the schedule.

One Last Mount

A five-year-old mare named Argine will be his final Grade One mount in the Breeders’ Cup Mile, the identical event in which he registered his first Breeders’ Cup success back in 1994. Her performance in Japan indicates that she needs to find to figure, yet few jockeys historically have risen to an occasion like Lanfranco Dettori.

For one final time, is it time for Frankie?