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It has been a thrilling, glorious and at times rocky path, but this time, it seems the famed jockey's mind is made up. The most celebrated rider over the last four decades is set to enter retirement after the main card during the Breeders’ Cup in Del Mar this Saturday, where he has three chances to add a farewell Grade One winner to nearly 300 already in his record. Racing may not see a career like his ever again.

An Iconic Figure

Alongside racing great Lester Piggott and maybe John McCririck in the last half-century, Frankie Dettori registers with almost everybody, without needing a last name. The public knows his identity, even if they possess no interest at all in what he does. In a world which has become divided by digital platforms and the internet, Dettori could be the last racing figure who will ever enjoy such instant name-recognition among a wide segment of Britain's people.

Dettori’s lifetime in horse racing, after all, goes back to an era when A Question Of Sport regularly pulled in over 10 million viewers, and a three-year stint as a team captain was sufficient to cement him as the lively, unforgettable figure of racing. His last year on the program came in 2004, that was also the year when he won the Flat jockeys’ title for a third and last occasion. For many in the UK, though, he has probably been the top jockey 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 racecourse which have often propelled Dettori onto the front pages, since that memorable day at Ascot in 1996 when he overcame odds of 25,000-1 to ride all seven winners on the card.

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

While everyone admires a champion, they frequently adore a flawed hero and a comeback even more. A six-month ban after a failed drug test for cocaine could have been the finish for many riders in their 40s, more than enough time for owners and trainers to find a younger alternative. For Dettori, though, 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 public highs and lows were an essential part of his narrative, right up until the humiliating admission in March that he was filing for bankruptcy following a long-standing disagreement with HMRC regarding unpaid taxes, a situation that Dettori tried, and did not succeed, to keep confidential.

There were numerous turns in his story, in fact, that it can be easy to overlook that absent his tremendous, once-in-a-generation skill, there would have been no narrative whatsoever.

Natural Ability

It was clear from the start as a young apprentice that he had a natural connection between horse and rider when Dettori was in the saddle.

Steeds performed for him, and improved for him. Back in 1990, he was the first teenager since Piggott to reach 100 winners in one season, and also marked his emergence among the elite with a Group One double at Ascot, on the same card that he would dominate without a loss only six years later. The famous flying dismount, copied from the American legend Angel Cordero Jr, was incorporated into his routine in 1994, and the thrill from riding a big-race winner has always stayed with him. Nor has the gift of sensing, with something akin to clairvoyance, where to sit, when to strike and where the gaps will emerge.

The Future Ahead

But what now for the recognizable figure of UK horse racing? It won't be simple to step away completely, regardless if Dettori pursues 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.

But the calamitous decision to follow tax guidance that led to his dispute with HMRC means that he will not end his career with enough money saved up to relax and take things easy.

Fresh Ventures

He has already been appointed to a new position as an international ambassador with the football super-agent Kia Joorabchian’s burgeoning Amo Racing enterprise. Dettori told Matt Chapman on At The Races on Friday this was the primary reason for his departure now, along with the chance to finish at the Breeders’ Cup. “These opportunities are rare, frequently. I like the set-up – it's a youthful team with huge goals,” explained the jockey.

Joorabchian personally, was gushing in his praise for his new recruit on Thursday at Del Mar. “He’s an icon, a genuine legend in the sport,” he stated. “When you talk about great sportsmen like LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Lionel Messi and Pelés and people like that, Frankie represents that for horse racing. When visiting Royal Ascot, you notice a statue, you know that he has influenced on so many lives across the world.

“He’s not here|“He isn't here} to amuse audiences, he’s here to actually work and he will be collaborate with us closely. He will participate in every area of our operations though he won't serve as a racing manager. He is an international ambassador.”

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

It may be that Dettori personally is unsure what he'll do and how he will fill his time once his race-riding days ends. And for another one more day, he stays an elite professional jockey, focused on three rides at one of the globe's prestigious and glamorous events on the schedule.

The Final Ride

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 in 1994. Her performance in Japan in Japan suggests that she needs to find to figure, yet few jockeys historically have excelled in big moments like Lanfranco Dettori.

One last time, cue Frankie?