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It has been an exhilarating, glorious and at times rocky path, but this time, it seems Frankie Dettori's mind is made up. The most celebrated jockey over the last four decades will effectively enter retirement after the main card during the Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar on Saturday, where he has three opportunities to add a farewell Grade One winner to his almost 300 on his record already. The sport might not see a career quite like it again.

A Household Name

Alongside Lester Piggott and perhaps John McCririck over the past half-century, “Frankie” is recognized by almost everybody, no surname required. The public knows who he is, even if they possess no interest at all in what he does. In a world that has been divided by digital platforms and the internet, Dettori could 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, after all, goes back to a time when the show A Question Of Sport regularly pulled in over 10 million audience members, and a three-year stint as a team leader was more than enough to cement him as the bubbly, irrepressible face of the sport. 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 many in the UK, however, he has likely been the champion in most years after that.

A Hard-Earned Fame

It 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 the unforgettable afternoon 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 pulled from a fiery crash of a small plane by his fellow rider, Ray Cochrane, following an accident during takeoff in which the plane’s pilot was killed. When he finally ended his quest for a Derby winner in 2007, that also became front-page news.

While everyone admires a winner, they often love a flawed hero and a return all the more. A half-year suspension after a failed drug test for cocaine could have been the finish for most jockeys in their 40s, plenty of time for owners and trainers to seek a younger replacement. For Dettori, however, suspension in December 2012 was a bridge to a renewed association with John Gosden at Newmarket, and a fresh succession of champions and classic victors, such as Enable, Golden Horn and Stradivarius.

Public Highs and Lows

The celebrated successes and lows have been a crucial element of Dettori’s story, right up until the embarrassing confession this past March that he filed for bankruptcy following a long-standing disagreement with HMRC regarding unpaid taxes, a circumstance that Dettori tried, and did not succeed, to keep private.

There have been so many twists in his story, in fact, that it can be easy to forget that without Dettori’s immense, once-in-a-generation skill, there would have been no story at all.

Natural Ability

It was clear from his earliest days as a teenage apprentice that he had a natural connection between horse and rider whenever Dettori was in the saddle.

Horses ran for him, and got better under him. Back in 1990, he was the first teenager since Lester Piggott to reach 100 winners in one season, and also marked his arrival among the elite with a Group One double at Ascot, on the same day that he would charge through unbeaten only six years later. The famous flying dismount, copied from the US legend Angel Cordero Jr, was incorporated into Dettori’s repertoire in 1994, and the buzz from riding a big-race winner has always stayed with him. Nor has the gift of knowing, with almost clairvoyance, where to sit, when to make a move and where the gaps will emerge.

What Comes Next?

But what next for the public face 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, a goal that he had mentioned previously.

However, the disastrous choice to follow tax guidance that led to his dispute with HMRC means that he will not draw down the curtain with enough money in the bank to kick back and take it easy.

Fresh Ventures

He has been appointed to a new position as a “global ambassador” with the soccer agent Kia Joorabchian's growing Amo Racing operation. Dettori told racing presenter Matt Chapman on Friday this was the main reason for his departure now, as well as being able to conclude at the Breeders’ Cup. “These opportunities are rare, very often. I like the set-up – this is a young team with huge goals,” said the rider.

Joorabchian, himself, was gushing in his praise for his new recruit at Del Mar on Thursday. “He’s an icon, he is a true legend in the sport,” he stated. “When discussing great sportsmen such as LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Lionel Messi and Pelés and similar figures, Frankie represents that to horse racing. When visiting Royal Ascot, you see a statue there, you know that he has influenced countless lives across the world.

“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 participate in all aspects of our operations [but] he won’t be a racing manager. He is a global ambassador.”

Reality TV are another option, although earlier outings on Big Brother and I’m A Celebrity … often showed a more somber aspect of his personality, beneath the cheerful public persona. On both shows, he was an early exit due to viewer votes.

It's possible that Dettori himself does not really know what he'll do and how he will fill his time after his riding career ends. And for at least 24 hours at least, he remains 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 filly called 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 back in 1994. Her form at home indicates that she has something to find to figure, but few riders in history have ever excelled in big moments like Lanfranco Dettori.

For one final time, cue Frankie?