The Legendary Jockey: What Comes Next as Racing's Greatest Icon Steps Away?

It has been an exhilarating, glorious and at times bumpy ride, but this time, it seems Frankie Dettori's mind is made up. The most storied rider over the last 40 years will effectively enter retirement after the main card during the Breeders’ Cup in Del Mar this Saturday, when he will have three chances to add a farewell Grade One winner to his almost 300 already in his record. Racing may not see a career quite like it again.

A Household Name

Alongside racing great Lester Piggott and maybe John McCririck in the last half-century, Frankie Dettori is recognized by almost everybody, no surname required. The public knows who he is, even if they have absolutely no interest in what he does. In a world which has become divided by digital platforms and online networks, Dettori may well be the final equestrian personality who will ever enjoy such instant brand recognition across a broad swathe of the British population.

His entire career in horse racing, after all, goes back to a time when A Question Of Sport regularly pulled in more than 10 million viewers, and his three-year role as a team leader was sufficient to establish him as the lively, unforgettable figure of racing. His last year on the show was 2004, which was also the time when he won the top jockey award for the third and final time. As far as much of the British public, however, he has likely been the top jockey for many seasons after that.

A Hard-Won Celebrity

This is, in many respects, a hard-won celebrity, a double-edged reward for incidents on and off the racecourse which have often propelled Dettori into the headlines, since that memorable day at Ascot in 1996 when he overcame odds of 25,000-1 to win all seven races that day.

In June 2000, he was pulled from a fiery crash of a small plane by his fellow rider, Ray Cochrane, after a crash on takeoff in which the plane’s pilot lost his life. When at last concluded his pursuit for a Derby winner in 2007, that too was headline news.

While everyone admires a winner, they frequently adore a flawed hero and a comeback even more. A six-month ban following a positive drug test for cocaine could have been the end of many riders in their 40s, plenty of time for trainers and owners to find a younger alternative. For Dettori, though, suspension in December 2012 served as a bridge to a revived partnership with John Gosden at Newmarket, and a new series of winners and classic victors, such as Enable, Golden Horn and Stradivarius.

Ups and Downs

The celebrated successes and setbacks have been an essential part of his narrative, 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 Dettori tried, and did not succeed, to keep confidential.

There have been numerous turns to the tale, indeed, that it can be easy to forget that absent his tremendous, generational talent, there would be no narrative whatsoever.

Early Talent and Instincts

It was evident from his earliest days as a young apprentice that there was a natural connection with the horses when Dettori was in the saddle.

Horses ran for him, and got better under him. Back in 1990, he was the first teenager since Lester Piggott to achieve 100 wins in a season, and also marked his emergence among the elite with two Group One wins at Ascot, on the same card that he would dominate without a loss just six years later. His iconic 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 always stayed with him. Neither has the talent of sensing, with almost clairvoyance, where to position, when to make a move and where the gaps 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 apparent desire to take “a few rides in South America, something that I’ve always wanted to experience”. This is not, after all, an ambition that he had mentioned previously.

But the calamitous decision to accept the tax advice that resulted in his dispute with HMRC indicates that Dettori will not end his career with enough money in the bank to relax and take it easy.

Fresh Ventures

He has been confirmed in a new role as an international ambassador with the football super-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 finish at the Breeders’ Cup. “Such chances are rare, frequently. I appreciate the structure – it's a youthful team with big ambitions,” said the rider.

Joorabchian, himself, was effusive in his compliments for his new recruit at Del Mar on Thursday. “He’s an icon, a genuine legend in the sport,” Joorabchian said. “When discussing great sportsmen like LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Lionel Messi and Pelés and people like that, Frankie represents that for horse racing. When visiting 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 actually work and he will collaborate with us closely. He will be involved in all aspects of our business [but] he won’t be a racing manager. He is an international ambassador.”

Television reality shows are another option, though previous appearances on Big Brother and I'm A Celebrity often showed a moodier side to Dettori’s character, behind the ebullient public persona. In both programs, he was an early exit of the public vote.

It's possible that Dettori personally does not really know what he will do and how to spend his time once his race-riding days ends. And for at least 24 hours at least, he stays a top-level professional jockey, focused on three rides at one of the most prestigious and glamorous events in the calendar.

One Last Mount

A five-year-old mare called Argine will be his last top-level ride in the Breeders’ Cup Mile, the identical event in which he registered his first Breeders’ Cup success in 1994. Her form at home in Japan suggests that she needs to improve to compete, yet few jockeys in history have ever risen to an occasion like Frankie Dettori.

One last time, is it time for Frankie?