Frankie Dettori: What Lies Ahead as Horse Racing's Biggest Star Steps Away?

The journey has been a thrilling, glorious and at times bumpy ride, yet now, it seems the famed jockey's mind is made up. The most storied rider of the past four decades is set to enter retirement after the main card at the Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar on Saturday, where he has three opportunities to secure one last top-tier victory to his almost 300 already in his record. The sport might not see a career quite like it again.

A Household Name

Together with Lester Piggott and maybe John McCririck over the past 50 years, “Frankie” registers with almost everybody, without needing a last name. People know his identity, even if they possess no interest at all in his profession. In a world that has been fragmented by digital platforms and the internet, Dettori could be the last racing figure that will ever experience such immediate brand recognition among a wide segment of the British population.

His entire career in horse racing, after all, goes back to a time when the show A Question Of Sport regularly pulled in more than 10 million audience members, and his three-year role as a team captain was sufficient to establish him as the bubbly, unforgettable figure of the sport. His last year on the program was 2004, that was also the year when he won the top jockey award for a third and last occasion. As far as much of the British public, though, he has likely been the top jockey in most years after that.

A Hard-Earned Fame

It is, in many respects, a hard-won celebrity, a double-edged reward for events both on and off the track that have repeatedly propelled Dettori onto the front pages, since that memorable day 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 a fiery crash of a small plane by fellow jockey, Ray Cochrane, after a crash on takeoff where the pilot lost his life. When at last concluded his pursuit for a Derby victory in 2007, that also became headline news.

While everyone admires a champion, they often love an imperfect hero and a comeback all the 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 owners and trainers to find a younger alternative. For Dettori, though, suspension in December 2012 served as a bridge to a renewed association with trainer John Gosden at Newmarket, and a fresh succession of champions and classic victors, including Enable, Golden Horn and Stradivarius.

Public Highs and Lows

The public highs and lows have been a crucial element of his narrative, right up until the embarrassing confession this past March that he filed for bankruptcy after a prolonged dispute with tax authorities over unpaid taxes, a situation that he attempted, and did not succeed, to keep confidential.

There have been so many twists to the tale, in fact, that it's easy to overlook that absent his tremendous, once-in-a-generation skill, there would be no narrative whatsoever.

Natural Ability

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

Steeds performed for him, and got better under him. In 1990, he became the first teen since Piggott to achieve 100 wins in a season, and also marked his emergence among the elite with a Group One double at Ascot, on the same day that he would dominate without a loss only six years later. His iconic flying dismount, adopted from the US legend Angel Cordero Jr, was added to Dettori’s repertoire in 1994, and the thrill from riding a big-race winner has always stayed with him. Nor has the gift of sensing, with almost clairvoyance, where to sit, when to strike and where the gaps will emerge.

The Future Ahead

But what now for the public face of UK horse racing? It won't be simple to step away completely, regardless if Dettori fulfils his expressed wish to take “a few rides in South America, something that he always wanted to do”. It is not, after all, an ambition that he had mentioned previously.

But the calamitous decision to follow tax guidance that resulted in his dispute with HMRC means that Dettori will not end his career with sufficient funds in the bank to kick back and take things easy.

Fresh Ventures

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 departure now, as well as being able to finish at the Breeders’ Cup. “These opportunities are rare, very often. I appreciate the structure – this is a young team with huge goals,” said the rider.

Joorabchian, himself, was effusive in his compliments for his new ambassador at Del Mar on Thursday. “He is an icon, he is a true legend of the sport,” he stated. “When discussing great sportsmen like LeBron James, Currys, Lionel Messi and Pelés and people like that, Frankie represents that to horse racing. When visiting Royal Ascot, you notice a statue, you realize that he has influenced countless 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 participate in all aspects of our business [but] he won’t be a racing manager. He is a global ambassador.”

Television reality shows are another option, though previous appearances on Big Brother and I’m A Celebrity … have tended to reveal a more somber aspect to Dettori’s character, beneath the cheerful public image. In both programs, he was an early exit due to viewer votes.

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

The Final Ride

A five-year-old filly named Argine will be Dettori’s final Grade One mount in the Breeders’ Cup Mile, the identical event where he achieved his first Breeders’ Cup success back in 1994. Her performance in Japan indicates that she has something to improve to compete, yet few jockeys historically have excelled in big moments like Lanfranco Dettori.

For one final time, cue Frankie?