Frankie Dettori: What Comes Next as Horse Racing's Greatest Icon Steps Away?

The journey has been an exhilarating, magnificent and at times bumpy ride, but this time, it appears the famed jockey's decision is final. The most celebrated jockey of the past four decades is set to head into retirement following the primary events during the Breeders’ Cup in Del Mar on Saturday, when he will have three opportunities to add a farewell top-tier victory to nearly 300 on his record already. Racing may not see a career like his ever again.

An Iconic Figure

Alongside racing great Lester Piggott and perhaps John McCririck in the last half-century, Frankie Dettori is recognized by pretty much everyone, no surname required. The public knows who he is, even if they possess absolutely no interest 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.

Dettori’s lifetime in the sport, in fact, dates back to an era when A Question Of Sport regularly pulled in more than 10 million audience members, and his three-year role as a team leader was more than enough to cement him as the bubbly, irrepressible face of racing. His final year on the show came in 2004, that was also the year when he won the top jockey award for the third and final time. For much of the British public, however, he has likely been the champion for many seasons since.

A Hard-Won Celebrity

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

Back in June 2000, he was rescued from the burning wreckage of a small plane by his fellow rider, Ray Cochrane, after a crash during takeoff where the pilot lost his life. When at last concluded his pursuit for a Derby victory in 2007, that too was headline news.

And if everyone loves a champion, 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, more than enough time for trainers and owners 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, such as Enable, Golden Horn and Stradivarius.

Ups and Downs

The public highs and setbacks have been a crucial element of Dettori’s story, up to and including the humiliating admission in March that he filed for bankruptcy after a prolonged dispute with HMRC regarding 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's easy to forget that absent his tremendous, generational talent, there would be no narrative whatsoever.

Natural Ability

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. In 1990, he was the first teenager since Piggott to achieve 100 wins in one season, and also announced his emergence among the elite with a Group One double at Ascot, on the same card that he would dominate through unbeaten just six years later. The famous flying dismount, copied from the US legend Angel Cordero Jr, was incorporated into his routine in 1994, and the thrill from winning major races has never left him. Nor has the gift of sensing, with something akin to clairvoyance, where to position, when to strike and where openings will emerge.

What Comes Next?

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 apparent desire to accept some mounts in South America, which is something he always wanted to do”. This is not, after all, an ambition that he has mentioned until now.

But the calamitous decision to follow tax guidance that resulted in his dispute with HMRC means that he will not draw down the curtain with sufficient funds saved up to kick back and take it easy.

New Role and Opportunities

He has already been appointed to a new position as an international ambassador with the football super-agent Kia Joorabchian's burgeoning Amo Racing enterprise. Dettori told racing presenter Matt Chapman on Friday this was the primary reason for his exit now, along with the chance to conclude at the Breeders’ Cup. “These opportunities are rare, frequently. I like the set-up – it's a youthful team with big ambitions,” said the rider.

Joorabchian personally, was gushing in his praise for his new recruit at Del Mar on Thursday. “He is an icon, he is a true legend of the sport,” he stated. “When you talk about elite athletes such as LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Lionel Messi and Pelé and people like that, Frankie is that to horse racing. When you go into Royal Ascot, you see a statue there, you realize that he’s made a big impact on so many lives across the world.

“He’s not here|“He isn't here} to entertain people, he's here to work and he will be working with us very closely. He will participate in all aspects of our business [but] he won’t be a racing manager. He is an international ambassador.”

Reality TV are another option, 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 persona. On both shows, he was an early casualty of the public vote.

It's possible that Dettori himself is unsure what he'll do and how he will fill his time once his riding career ends. And for at least one more day, he stays a top-level professional jockey, focused on three mounts at one of the globe's prestigious and glamorous events in the calendar.

The Final Ride

A five-year-old filly 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 in Japan suggests that she needs to find to figure, yet few jockeys historically have risen to an occasion like Frankie Dettori.

For one final time, cue Frankie?