The Legendary Jockey: What Lies Ahead as Horse Racing's Greatest Icon Steps Away?

The journey has been an exhilarating, magnificent and at times rocky path, yet now, it seems the famed jockey's mind is made up. The most storied jockey over the last 40 years is set to head into retirement following the primary events during the Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar this Saturday, where he has three opportunities to add a farewell Grade One winner to nearly 300 already in his record. Racing may not witness a career like his ever again.

A Household Name

Alongside Lester Piggott and perhaps John McCririck over the past 50 years, Frankie Dettori registers with almost everybody, no surname required. The public knows who he is, even if they possess absolutely no interest in what he does. In today's world that has been divided by digital platforms and the internet, Dettori may well be the last racing figure who will ever enjoy such instant name-recognition among a wide segment of the British population.

His entire career in the sport, after all, dates back to an era when A Question Of Sport often attracted more than 10 million audience members, and his three-year role as a team leader was sufficient to establish him as the lively, unforgettable figure of racing. His final year on the show came in 2004, that was also the year when he won the top jockey award for a third and final time. For many in the UK, though, he has probably been the top jockey for many seasons since.

A Hard-Earned Fame

It is, in many respects, a hard-won celebrity, a mixed blessing for incidents both on and off the racecourse which have often propelled Dettori onto the front pages, ever since the unforgettable afternoon at Ascot in 1996 when he overcame odds of 25,000-1 to ride all seven winners that day.

Back in June 2000, he was pulled from the burning wreckage of a light aircraft by his fellow rider, Ray Cochrane, after a crash on takeoff where the pilot was killed. When he finally concluded his pursuit for a Derby victory in 2007, that too was front-page news.

While everyone admires a winner, they frequently adore an imperfect hero and a return even more. A half-year suspension after a failed drug test for cocaine would have been the finish for most jockeys in their 40s, plenty of time for trainers and owners to seek a younger replacement. For Dettori, though, suspension in December 2012 was a bridge to a renewed association with trainer John Gosden at Newmarket, and a new series of winners and classic victors, including Enable, Golden Horn and Stradivarius.

Public Highs and Lows

The celebrated successes and lows were a crucial element of Dettori’s story, up to and including the humiliating admission this past March that he filed for bankruptcy after a prolonged dispute with tax authorities regarding unpaid taxes, a situation that Dettori tried, and failed, to keep private.

There were numerous turns in his story, in fact, that it can be easy to forget that without his tremendous, generational talent, there would have been no story at all.

Early Talent and Instincts

It was clear from his earliest days as a teenage apprentice that there was an instinctive rapport between horse and rider whenever Dettori was on board.

Horses ran for him, and got better under him. In 1990, he was the first teenager since Piggott to reach 100 winners in one season, and also announced his arrival among the elite with two Group One wins at Ascot, on the same card that he would charge through unbeaten just six years later. The famous flying dismount, copied from the American legend Angel Cordero Jr, was incorporated into his routine in 1994, and the buzz from winning major races has never left him. Neither has the talent of knowing, with almost foresight, where to position, when to make a move and where openings will appear.

What Comes Next?

But what next for the public face of UK horse racing? It will not be easy to step away completely, regardless if Dettori pursues his apparent desire to take “a few rides in South America, something that he always wanted to experience”. This is not, in fact, an ambition that he has mentioned previously.

However, the disastrous choice to accept the tax advice that resulted in his tax issues indicates 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 a “global ambassador” with the soccer agent Kia Joorabchian’s growing Amo Racing enterprise. Dettori told racing presenter Matt Chapman on Friday this was the main reason for his departure now, along with the chance to conclude at the Breeders’ Cup. “Such chances are rare, very often. I appreciate the structure – it's a youthful team with big ambitions,” explained the jockey.

Joorabchian personally, was gushing in his praise for his new ambassador at Del Mar on Thursday. “He’s an icon, a genuine legend of the sport,” he stated. “When you talk about great sportsmen such as LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Lionel Messi and Pelés and similar figures, Frankie represents that for horse racing. When visiting Royal Ascot, you see a statue there, you realize that he has influenced on so many lives worldwide.

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

Reality TV is another possibility, though previous appearances on Celebrity Big Brother and I’m A Celebrity … often showed a moodier side to Dettori’s character, behind the ebullient public image. On both shows, he was an early casualty due to viewer votes.

It may be that Dettori himself is unsure what he'll do and how he will fill his time once his race-riding days ends. And for another one more day, he remains a top-level professional jockey, focused on three mounts at one of the most prestigious and dazzling events on the schedule.

The Final Ride

A five-year-old filly called Argine will be Dettori’s final Grade One mount in the Breeders’ Cup Mile, the same race where he achieved his first Breeders’ Cup success back in 1994. Her performance in Japan indicates that she needs to find to figure, but few riders historically have excelled in big moments like Lanfranco Dettori.

For one final time, is it time for Frankie?