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The journey has been an exhilarating, magnificent and sometimes rocky path, but this time, it seems Frankie Dettori's mind is made up. The most celebrated rider of the past 40 years is set to head into retirement following the primary events at the Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar this Saturday, when he will have three chances to add a farewell Grade One winner to nearly 300 already in his record. Racing may not witness a career quite like it again.

An Iconic Figure

Together with racing great Lester Piggott and perhaps John McCririck over the past half-century, “Frankie” registers with pretty much everyone, no surname required. People know who he is, even if they possess no interest at all in what he does. In today's world that has been divided by social media and online networks, Dettori may well be the last racing figure who will ever experience such immediate brand recognition among a wide segment of the British population.

His entire career in horse racing, in fact, dates back to a time when the show A Question Of Sport often attracted over 10 million audience members, and a three-year stint as a team leader was more than enough to establish him as the bubbly, irrepressible face of racing. His last year on the show came in 2004, that was also the time when he won the Flat jockeys’ title for a third and last occasion. As far as much of the British public, though, he has probably been the champion in most years since.

A Hard-Earned Fame

This is, in many ways, a hard-earned fame, a mixed blessing for incidents both on and off the track that have repeatedly pushed Dettori onto the front pages, ever since that memorable day at Ascot in 1996 when he overcame massive 25,000-1 odds to win all seven races that day.

In June 2000, he was pulled from the burning wreckage of a small plane by his fellow rider, Ray Cochrane, following an accident on takeoff where the pilot was killed. When he finally concluded his pursuit for a Derby victory in 2007, that too was headline news.

And if everyone loves a winner, they often love a flawed hero and a return all the more. A six-month ban after a failed drug test for cocaine would have been the end of most jockeys in their 40s, plenty of time for owners and trainers to find a younger alternative. For Dettori, however, suspension in December 2012 served as a bridge to a renewed association with John Gosden in Newmarket, and a fresh succession of winners and Classic winners, such as Enable, Golden Horn and Stradivarius.

Ups and Downs

The celebrated successes and setbacks were a crucial element of his narrative, right up until the humiliating admission this past March that he filed for bankruptcy following a long-standing disagreement 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, in fact, that it can be easy to forget that absent Dettori’s immense, generational talent, there would have been no narrative whatsoever.

Natural Ability

It was clear from the start as a teenage apprentice that he had an instinctive rapport with the horses whenever Dettori was on board.

Steeds performed for him, and got better under him. Back in 1990, he became the first teen since Piggott to reach 100 winners in a season, and also marked his emergence among the elite with a Group One double at Ascot, on the same day that he would charge through unbeaten only six years later. His iconic flying dismount, adopted from the US legend Angel Cordero Jr, was incorporated into his routine in 1994, and the thrill from riding a big-race winner has never left him. Neither has the talent of knowing, with almost foresight, where to sit, when to make a move and where openings will emerge.

The Future Ahead

But what now 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 accept some mounts in South America, something that he always wanted to experience”. It is not, after all, an ambition that he has mentioned until now.

However, the disastrous choice to accept the tax advice that led to his dispute with HMRC means that he will not draw down the curtain with sufficient funds in the bank to relax and take things easy.

Fresh Ventures

He has already been appointed to a new position as an international ambassador with the soccer agent Kia Joorabchian's growing Amo Racing operation. He explained to racing presenter Matt Chapman last Friday this was the primary reason for his departure now, as well as being able to conclude at the Breeders’ Cup. “Such chances don’t come along, frequently. I appreciate the structure – it's a youthful team with big ambitions,” said the rider.

Joorabchian personally, was effusive in his compliments for his new ambassador at Del Mar on Thursday. “He is an icon, a genuine legend of the sport,” he stated. “When you talk about great sportsmen such as LeBron James, Currys, Lionel Messi and Pelés and similar figures, Frankie represents that for horse racing. When you go into Royal Ascot, you notice a statue, you realize 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 closely. He will be involved in all aspects of our operations [but] he won’t be a racing manager. He is an international ambassador.”

Television reality shows is another possibility, although earlier outings on Celebrity Big Brother and I’m A Celebrity … often showed a moodier side of his personality, behind the ebullient public image. In both programs, he was an early casualty due to viewer votes.

It's possible that Dettori himself is unsure what he'll do and how he will fill his time after his race-riding days are over. And for at least 24 hours at least, he remains an elite professional jockey, concentrating on three rides at one of the globe's prestigious and glamorous events on the schedule.

The Final Ride

A five-year-old mare called Argine will be his final Grade One mount in the Breeders’ Cup Mile, the identical event where he achieved his first Breeders’ Cup success in 1994. Her form at home indicates that she has something to improve to compete, yet few jockeys historically have risen to an occasion like Frankie Dettori.

For one final time, cue Frankie?