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It has been an exhilarating, glorious and sometimes rocky path, but this time, it seems the famed jockey's mind is made up. The most storied rider over the last 40 years will effectively head into retirement following the primary events during the Breeders’ Cup in Del Mar on Saturday, when he will have three chances to add a farewell top-tier victory to nearly 300 already in his record. The sport might not witness a career like his ever again.

An Iconic Figure

Together with Lester Piggott and maybe John McCririck in the last half-century, Frankie Dettori registers with pretty much everyone, without needing a last name. People know who he is, even if they possess absolutely no interest in what he does. In a world that has been fragmented by social media and the internet, Dettori could be the last racing figure who will ever enjoy such instant name-recognition across a broad swathe of the British population.

His entire career in horse racing, after all, dates back to a time when 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 cement him as the lively, irrepressible face of racing. His final year on the show came in 2004, that was also the time when he won the top jockey award for the third and final time. For many in the UK, though, he has probably been the top jockey for many seasons since.

A Hard-Earned Fame

This is, in many ways, a hard-earned fame, a mixed blessing for events both on and off the racecourse which have often propelled Dettori onto the front pages, since the unforgettable afternoon at Ascot in 1996 when he overcame massive 25,000-1 odds to ride all seven winners on the card.

In June 2000, he was pulled from the burning wreckage of a light aircraft by his fellow rider, Ray Cochrane, following an accident during takeoff where the pilot lost his life. When he finally ended his quest for a Derby winner in 2007, that too was front-page news.

While everyone admires a winner, they often love a flawed hero and a comeback all the more. A half-year suspension after a failed drug test for cocaine could have been the finish for many riders in their forties, plenty of time for trainers and owners to find a younger alternative. For Dettori, however, his 2012 suspension served as a bridge to a renewed association with trainer John Gosden at Newmarket, and a fresh succession of winners and classic victors, including Enable, Golden Horn and Stradivarius.

Ups and Downs

The public highs and lows have been a crucial element of his narrative, right up until the humiliating admission this past March that he was filing for bankruptcy following a long-standing disagreement with tax authorities regarding unpaid taxes, a circumstance that Dettori tried, and did not succeed, to keep private.

There have been so many twists in his story, indeed, 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.

Early Talent and Instincts

It was clear from his earliest days as a young apprentice that there was an instinctive rapport between horse and rider whenever Dettori was on board.

Steeds performed for him, and got better under him. In 1990, he was the first teenager since Lester Piggott to achieve 100 wins in a season, and also marked his emergence among the elite with two Group One wins at Ascot, on the same card that he would charge without a loss just six years later. His iconic flying dismount, adopted from the American legend Angel Cordero Jr, was incorporated into Dettori’s repertoire in 1994, and the buzz from winning major races has always stayed with him. Nor has the gift of sensing, with almost clairvoyance, where to position, when to strike and where openings will emerge.

What Comes Next?

But what now for the recognizable figure of British racing? It won't be simple to finally let go, regardless if Dettori fulfils his expressed wish to take “a few rides in South America, something that he always wanted to do”. 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 indicates that Dettori will not draw down the curtain with sufficient funds saved up to relax and take it easy.

New Role and Opportunities

He has already been appointed to a new position as a “global ambassador” with the football super-agent Kia Joorabchian's burgeoning Amo Racing operation. Dettori told racing presenter Matt Chapman on Friday this was the primary 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 – it's a youthful team with huge goals,” explained the jockey.

Joorabchian personally, was effusive in his compliments for his new recruit on Thursday at Del Mar. “He is an icon, a genuine legend in the sport,” he stated. “When discussing great sportsmen such as LeBron James, Currys, Lionel Messi and Pelé and people like that, Frankie is that to horse racing. When you go into Royal Ascot, you see a statue there, you know that he’s made a big impact countless lives across the world.

“He’s not here|“He isn't here} to entertain people, he's here to work and he will collaborate with us closely. He will participate in all aspects of our operations though he won't serve as a racing manager. He is an international ambassador.”

Reality TV are another option, though previous appearances on Big Brother and I'm A Celebrity often showed a more somber aspect to Dettori’s character, behind the ebullient public image. On both shows, he was an early exit due to viewer votes.

It may be that Dettori himself does not really know 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 stays a top-level professional jockey, concentrating on three mounts at one of the globe's prestigious and glamorous events on the schedule.

One Last Mount

A five-year-old mare called Argine will be Dettori’s last top-level ride in the Breeders’ Cup Mile, the same race in which he registered his initial Breeders’ Cup win in 1994. Her performance in Japan in Japan suggests that she has something to find to figure, but few riders historically have risen to an occasion like Frankie Dettori.

One last time, is it time for Frankie?