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It has been a thrilling, glorious and sometimes bumpy ride, yet now, it seems the famed jockey's mind is made up. The most storied jockey over the last 40 years will effectively head into retirement following the primary events during the Breeders’ Cup in Del Mar this Saturday, when he will have three opportunities to secure one last Grade One winner to nearly 300 already in his record. The sport might not witness a career quite like it again.

An Iconic Figure

Together with racing great Lester Piggott and perhaps John McCririck over the past 50 years, “Frankie” is recognized by almost everybody, no surname required. People know who he is, even if they possess no interest at all in his profession. In today's world which has become fragmented by social media and online networks, Dettori may well be the final equestrian personality who will ever experience such immediate brand recognition across a broad swathe of Britain's people.

Dettori’s lifetime in horse racing, after all, goes back to a time when the show A Question Of Sport often attracted more than 10 million audience members, and a three-year stint as a team captain was more than enough to cement him as the bubbly, irrepressible face of the sport. His final year on the show was 2004, which was also the year when he secured the Flat jockeys’ title for the third and last occasion. For much of the British public, though, he has probably been the top jockey in most years since.

A Hard-Won Celebrity

This is, in many ways, a hard-earned fame, a mixed blessing for incidents on and off the track that have repeatedly pushed Dettori into the headlines, since that memorable day 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 the burning wreckage of a light aircraft by his fellow rider, Ray Cochrane, after a crash during takeoff where the pilot lost his life. When he finally concluded his pursuit for a Derby victory in 2007, that too was headline news.

And if everyone loves a champion, they frequently adore a flawed hero and a comeback all the more. A six-month ban after a failed drug test for cocaine could have been the end of many riders in their 40s, more than enough time for trainers and owners to find a younger alternative. For Dettori, though, his 2012 suspension served as a bridge to a revived partnership with John Gosden in Newmarket, and a fresh succession of champions and classic victors, such as Enable, Golden Horn and Stradivarius.

Public Highs and Lows

The public highs and setbacks have been an essential part of Dettori’s story, right up until the embarrassing confession in March that he was filing for bankruptcy following a long-standing disagreement with tax authorities over unpaid taxes, a situation that he attempted, and did not succeed, to keep private.

There were so many twists to the tale, indeed, that it can be easy to overlook that without Dettori’s immense, once-in-a-generation skill, there would have been no narrative whatsoever.

Early Talent and Instincts

It was evident from the start as a young apprentice that there was a natural connection with the horses when Dettori was in the saddle.

Horses ran for him, and got better under him. Back in 1990, he was the first teenager since Piggott to reach 100 winners in one season, and also marked his arrival among the elite with two Group One wins at Ascot, on the same card that he would dominate through unbeaten just six years later. The famous flying dismount, copied from the US legend Angel Cordero Jr, was added to Dettori’s repertoire in 1994, and the thrill from winning major races has never left him. Nor has the gift of knowing, with almost foresight, where to sit, when to strike and where the gaps will emerge.

The Future Ahead

But what next for the public face of UK horse racing? It will not be easy to step away completely, regardless if Dettori fulfils his expressed wish to take “a few rides in South America, something that I’ve always wanted to do”. This is not, after all, a goal that he has mentioned until now.

But the calamitous decision to accept the tax advice that resulted in his dispute with HMRC indicates that Dettori will not draw down the curtain with sufficient funds saved up to relax and take things easy.

Fresh Ventures

He has been appointed to a new position as a “global ambassador” with the football super-agent Kia Joorabchian’s burgeoning Amo Racing operation. He explained to racing presenter Matt Chapman last Friday this was the primary reason for his departure now, along with the chance to conclude at the Breeders’ Cup. “These opportunities are rare, very often. I appreciate the structure – it's a youthful team with huge goals,” said the rider.

Joorabchian, himself, was gushing in his praise for his new recruit 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, Stephen Curry, Lionel Messi and Pelé and people like that, Frankie represents that to horse racing. When visiting Royal Ascot, you notice a statue, 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 actually work and he will be working with us very 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 have tended to reveal 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 does not really know what he'll do and how he will fill his time after his riding career are over. And for at least one more day, he remains an elite professional jockey, concentrating on three rides at one of the most prestigious and glamorous events in the calendar.

The Final Ride

A five-year-old filly named Argine will be Dettori’s last top-level ride in the Breeders’ Cup Mile, the identical event where he achieved his first Breeders’ Cup success in 1994. Her form at home in Japan suggests that she needs to improve to compete, yet few jockeys in history have ever risen to an occasion like Lanfranco Dettori.

One last time, cue Frankie?