British horse racing has 11 months to come to terms with his decision but already the question of who will fill the huge void left when Frankie Dettori retires next year is being asked. It is very hard to come up with an answer; Racing has been struggling to maintain its profile here against competing sporting attractions but the one consolation it has had is that it could always play its trump card and roll out the Italian born rider.
What would he be riding in the Derby, what were his best chances at Royal Ascot, how did he think his beloved football team Arsenal were playing? Dettori has been the ‘go to man’ for an interview or appearance ahead of a big racing event. He crossed sporting boundaries and has genuinely become the racing’s most recognisable public name, possibly only matched by the late Lester Piggott.
But that fact itself may hand us the answer to the question posed at the start. In terms of being happy in the limelight, Dettori is in a different league to Piggott. Dettori’s life away from racing will undoubtedly involve work on racing TV programmes but also, importantly, on entertainment programmes watched by the wider population.
Harnessed right the 52yo can continue to be the sport’s greatest ambassador for years to come, moving from being its greatest showman to being its greatest salesman. But until that happens we have a season to enjoy the best jockey of his generation. He returns to action at southern California track Santa Anita on 26 December, where he will also finally bow out in November at the Breeders’ Cup meeting.
In between there will be one final shot at the big British and European races as well as a chance for a final hurrah in Dubai when a mount in the World Cup will surely be found for him. When he won the race on Country Grammer this year it was his fourth in the race, a feat only matched by the US jockey Jerry Bailey.
Dettori’s first win was the most memorable on the prodigiously talented Dubai Millennium in 2000. His association with Sheikh Mohammed’s Godolphin operation during a golden era for the organisation means Dettori’s name is intrinsically linked with the evolution of racing in the Emirate. On his farewell world tour, Dubai will be one of the first to wave goodbye to the rider.
Hopefully, it will be a celebration of a brilliant career which has included some downs but also many remarkable ups. Britain’s 20-time Champion Jump Jockey Sir Anthony McCoy, summed up the situation perfectly when he tweeted: “Greatness exists in us all, but not everyone gets to show it to the world. Enjoy Frankie for the next year everyone.” We definitely should.
MARCUS TOWNEND
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