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The journey has been a thrilling, glorious and sometimes bumpy ride, but this time, it appears Frankie Dettori's mind is made up. The most celebrated jockey of the past 40 years is set to enter retirement after the main card at the Breeders’ Cup in Del Mar on Saturday, where he has three opportunities to secure one last Grade One winner to nearly 300 on his record already. Racing may not see a career like his ever again.

A Household Name

Alongside racing great Lester Piggott and maybe John McCririck over the past half-century, “Frankie” registers with pretty much everyone, no surname required. The public knows who he is, even if they have absolutely no interest in what he does. In today's world which has become fragmented by social media and the internet, Dettori may well be the final equestrian personality who will ever experience such immediate brand recognition among a wide segment of Britain's people.

His entire career in horse racing, in fact, goes back to an era when A Question Of Sport regularly pulled in more than 10 million audience members, and a three-year stint as a team captain was sufficient to establish him as the bubbly, irrepressible face of the sport. His final year on the program came in 2004, which was also the time when he secured the top jockey award for a third and last occasion. As far as many in the UK, though, he has probably been the top jockey for many seasons after that.

A Hard-Earned Fame

It is, in many respects, a hard-won celebrity, a mixed blessing 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 overcame massive 25,000-1 odds to ride all seven winners that day.

In June 2000, he was rescued from the burning wreckage of a light aircraft by fellow jockey, Ray Cochrane, following an accident on takeoff in which the plane’s pilot lost his life. When at last ended his quest for a Derby victory in 2007, that also became front-page news.

While everyone admires a winner, they frequently adore a flawed hero and a return all the more. A six-month ban following a positive drug test for cocaine could have been the end of many riders in their 40s, more than enough time for owners and trainers to seek a younger replacement. For Dettori, however, suspension in December 2012 was a bridge to a revived partnership with John Gosden at Newmarket, and a new series of champions and classic victors, including Enable, Golden Horn and Stradivarius.

Ups and Downs

The celebrated successes and lows have been an essential part of his narrative, up to and including the embarrassing confession this past March that he was filing 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 in his story, in fact, that it can be easy to forget that absent his tremendous, generational talent, there would have been no story at all.

Natural Ability

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

Steeds performed for him, and got better under him. In 1990, he was the first teenager since Lester Piggott to achieve 100 wins in one season, and also announced his arrival among the elite with a Group One double at Ascot, on the same card that he would charge 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 buzz from riding a big-race winner has always stayed with him. Nor has the gift of sensing, with something akin to foresight, 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 finally let go, regardless if Dettori pursues his apparent desire to accept some mounts in South America, which is something he always wanted to experience”. This is not, in fact, an ambition that he had mentioned previously.

But the calamitous decision to accept the tax advice that resulted in his tax issues indicates that Dettori will not end his career with sufficient funds in the bank to relax and take it easy.

New Role and Opportunities

He has been confirmed in a new role as an international ambassador with the soccer agent Kia Joorabchian’s growing Amo Racing operation. Dettori told Matt Chapman on At The Races last Friday this was the primary reason for his departure now, along with the chance to finish at the Breeders’ Cup. “Such chances are rare, frequently. I like the set-up – this is a young team with big ambitions,” said the rider.

Joorabchian, himself, was effusive in his compliments for his new ambassador on Thursday at Del Mar. “He is an icon, a genuine legend of the sport,” he stated. “When you talk about great sportsmen such as LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Lionel Messi and Pelé and people like that, Frankie represents that for horse racing. When visiting Royal Ascot, you notice a statue, you know that he’s made a big impact on so many lives worldwide.

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

Television reality shows is another possibility, though previous appearances on Celebrity Big Brother and I’m A Celebrity … often showed a moodier side to Dettori’s character, beneath the cheerful public persona. On both shows, he was an early exit of the public vote.

It's possible that Dettori himself is unsure what he will do and how he will fill his time once his race-riding days are over. And for at least one more day, he remains an elite professional jockey, concentrating on three mounts at one of the most prestigious and dazzling events in the calendar.

One Last Mount

A five-year-old mare named Argine will be Dettori’s last top-level ride in the Breeders’ Cup Mile, the identical event in which he registered his initial Breeders’ Cup win in 1994. Her form at home indicates that she has something to find to figure, yet few jockeys historically have risen to an occasion like Lanfranco Dettori.

One last time, is it time for Frankie?