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It has been a thrilling, magnificent and sometimes rocky path, but this time, it appears the famed jockey's mind is made up. The most storied jockey over the last four decades will effectively enter retirement after the main card at the Breeders’ Cup in Del Mar on Saturday, when he will have three opportunities to add a farewell top-tier victory to nearly 300 already in his record. The sport might not see a career quite like it again.

A Household Name

Together with Lester Piggott and maybe John McCririck in the last 50 years, Frankie Dettori registers with pretty much everyone, without needing a last name. People know his identity, even if they have no interest at all in his profession. In a world which has become fragmented by digital platforms and online networks, Dettori could be the last racing figure who will ever experience such immediate name-recognition across a broad swathe of the British population.

Dettori’s lifetime in horse racing, after all, goes back to an era when the show A Question Of Sport often attracted over 10 million viewers, and his three-year role as a team captain was more than enough to cement him as the bubbly, unforgettable figure of the sport. His final year on the show was 2004, that was also the year when he won the top jockey award for a third and last occasion. For much of the British public, however, he has probably been the champion in most years after that.

A Hard-Won Celebrity

It is, in many ways, a hard-won celebrity, a double-edged reward for events both on and off the track which have often pushed Dettori onto the front pages, ever since that memorable day at Ascot in 1996 when he overcame odds of 25,000-1 to win all seven races on the card.

In June 2000, he was rescued from a fiery crash of a small plane by fellow jockey, Ray Cochrane, after a crash during takeoff in which the plane’s pilot was killed. When he finally ended his quest for a Derby winner in 2007, that too was headline news.

While everyone admires a champion, they frequently adore an imperfect hero and a comeback even more. A six-month ban following a positive drug test for cocaine would have been the end of most jockeys in their forties, plenty of time for trainers and owners to seek a younger replacement. For Dettori, though, suspension in December 2012 was a bridge to a revived partnership with John Gosden at Newmarket, and a fresh succession of winners and classic victors, such as Enable, Golden Horn and Stradivarius.

Ups and Downs

The public highs and lows have been an essential part of Dettori’s story, up to and including the humiliating admission this past March that he filed for bankruptcy following a long-standing disagreement with HMRC over unpaid taxes, a circumstance that he attempted, and did not succeed, to keep confidential.

There have been so many twists in his story, indeed, that it can be easy to forget that absent Dettori’s immense, once-in-a-generation skill, there would be no narrative whatsoever.

Natural Ability

It was clear from the start as a young apprentice that he had a natural connection with the horses when Dettori was in the saddle.

Horses ran for him, and improved for him. In 1990, he became the first teen since Lester Piggott to achieve 100 wins in one season, and also marked his arrival at the highest level with a Group One double at Ascot, on the same card that he would charge through unbeaten just six years later. His iconic flying dismount, adopted from the US legend Angel Cordero Jr, was incorporated into his routine in 1994, and the buzz from winning major races has never left him. Neither has the talent of knowing, with almost clairvoyance, where to position, when to make a move and where the gaps will appear.

What Comes Next?

But what next for the public face of British racing? It won't be simple to finally let go, regardless if Dettori fulfils his apparent desire to accept some mounts in South America, something that I’ve always wanted to experience”. It is not, in fact, a goal that he has mentioned previously.

However, the disastrous choice to accept the tax advice that resulted in his tax issues means that he will not draw down the curtain with enough money saved up to relax and take it easy.

Fresh Ventures

He has already been confirmed in a new role as a “global ambassador” with the football super-agent Kia Joorabchian’s growing Amo Racing operation. He explained to Matt Chapman on At The Races last Friday this was the primary reason for his exit 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 huge goals,” explained the jockey.

Joorabchian, himself, was gushing in his praise for his new recruit on Thursday at Del Mar. “He’s an icon, he is a true legend in the sport,” he stated. “When you talk about great sportsmen such as LeBron James, Currys, 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 countless lives worldwide.

“He’s not here|“He isn't here} to entertain people, he’s here to actually work and he will collaborate with us closely. He will participate in every area of our business [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 … have tended to reveal a more somber aspect to Dettori’s character, beneath the cheerful public image. On both shows, he was an early casualty of the public vote.

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 another 24 hours at least, he remains a top-level professional jockey, concentrating on three rides at one of the globe's prestigious and dazzling events on the schedule.

The Final Ride

A five-year-old filly named Argine will be Dettori’s 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 Lanfranco Dettori.

One last time, cue Frankie?