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

It has been a thrilling, glorious and sometimes bumpy ride, but this time, it seems Frankie Dettori's decision is final. The most celebrated rider of the past 40 years will effectively enter retirement after the main card during the Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar on Saturday, where he has three chances to add a farewell top-tier victory to his almost 300 on his record already. The sport might not witness a career like his ever again.

An Iconic Figure

Together with racing great Lester Piggott and perhaps John McCririck over the past 50 years, “Frankie” registers with almost everybody, without needing a last name. People know who he is, even if they possess 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 who will ever enjoy such instant brand recognition across a broad swathe of Britain's people.

Dettori’s lifetime in the sport, in fact, goes back to an era when the show A Question Of Sport often attracted more than 10 million viewers, and a three-year stint as a team captain was more than enough to cement him as the lively, irrepressible face of the sport. His last year on the program came in 2004, which was also the year when he secured the top jockey award for the third and final time. As far as much of the British public, though, he has probably been the top jockey in most years after that.

A Hard-Earned Fame

It is, in many ways, a hard-earned fame, a double-edged reward for events both on and off the racecourse that have repeatedly pushed Dettori onto the front pages, ever 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 pulled from the burning wreckage of a small plane by fellow jockey, Ray Cochrane, after a crash on takeoff where the pilot lost his life. When he finally concluded his pursuit for a Derby winner in 2007, that too was front-page news.

While everyone admires a champion, they frequently adore a flawed hero and a comeback even more. A half-year suspension following a positive drug test for cocaine would have been the finish for most jockeys in their forties, plenty of time for trainers and owners to seek a younger replacement. For Dettori, however, suspension in December 2012 served as a bridge to a renewed association with trainer John Gosden in Newmarket, and a new series of winners and Classic winners, including Enable, Golden Horn and Stradivarius.

Ups and Downs

The celebrated successes and lows were a crucial element of Dettori’s story, right up until the embarrassing confession this past March that he was filing for bankruptcy after a prolonged dispute with HMRC over unpaid taxes, a situation that he attempted, and failed, to keep confidential.

There were so many twists to the tale, in fact, that it's easy to forget that without Dettori’s immense, generational talent, there would have been no story at all.

Natural Ability

It was clear from the start as a young apprentice that there was an instinctive rapport between horse and rider when Dettori was in the saddle.

Steeds performed for him, and got better under him. In 1990, he was the first teenager since Piggott to reach 100 winners in a season, and also marked his arrival among the elite with two Group One wins at Ascot, on the same card that he would dominate through unbeaten just six years later. The famous flying dismount, adopted from the US legend Angel Cordero Jr, was incorporated into his routine in 1994, and the buzz from riding a big-race winner has never left 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 UK horse racing? It will not be easy to step away completely, whether or not Dettori fulfils his expressed wish to take “a few rides in South America, which is something he always wanted to experience”. This is not, after all, a goal that he had mentioned until now.

However, the disastrous choice to follow tax guidance that resulted in his tax issues means that he will not draw down the curtain with sufficient funds saved up to kick back 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 growing Amo Racing operation. Dettori told racing presenter Matt Chapman last Friday this was the main reason for his departure now, along with the chance to finish at the Breeders’ Cup. “These opportunities don’t come along, very often. I appreciate the structure – it's a youthful team with huge goals,” said the rider.

Joorabchian personally, 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,” Joorabchian said. “When you talk about elite athletes such as LeBron James, Currys, Messis and Pelés and people like that, Frankie is that for horse racing. When you go into Royal Ascot, you see a statue there, you realize that he has influenced countless lives worldwide.

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

Television reality shows is another possibility, though previous appearances on Big Brother and I'm A Celebrity have tended to reveal a moodier side to Dettori’s character, behind the ebullient public image. In both programs, he was an early exit of the public vote.

It may be that Dettori personally does not really know what he will do and how to spend his time after his riding career ends. And for another 24 hours at least, he stays a top-level professional jockey, focused on three rides at one of the globe's prestigious and glamorous events on the schedule.

One Last Mount

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

For one final time, is it time for Frankie?