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The journey has been an exhilarating, magnificent and sometimes bumpy ride, but this time, it appears the famed jockey's mind is made up. The most storied rider of the past four decades is set to head into retirement after the main card during the Breeders’ Cup in Del Mar this Saturday, when he will have three chances to secure one last top-tier victory to his almost 300 already in his record. The sport might not witness a career like his ever again.

A Household Name

Alongside racing great Lester Piggott and perhaps John McCririck over the past 50 years, “Frankie” registers with almost everybody, no surname required. The public knows who he is, even if they have no interest at all in his profession. In today's world that has been fragmented by social media and online networks, Dettori could be the last racing figure who will ever enjoy such instant brand recognition among a wide segment of the British population.

Dettori’s lifetime in horse racing, in fact, dates back to a time when A Question Of Sport regularly pulled in over 10 million viewers, and his three-year role as a team leader was sufficient to cement him as the lively, irrepressible face of racing. His last year on the program came in 2004, which was also the year when he secured the top jockey award for a third and final time. As far as much of the British public, though, he has likely been the top jockey in most years since.

A Hard-Earned Fame

This is, in many respects, a hard-earned fame, a double-edged reward for events both on and off the track which have often pushed Dettori onto the front pages, since the unforgettable afternoon at Ascot in 1996 when he defied odds of 25,000-1 to win all seven races that day.

In June 2000, he was rescued from the burning wreckage of a small plane by fellow jockey, Ray Cochrane, after a crash on takeoff in which the plane’s pilot was killed. When he finally ended his quest for a Derby victory in 2007, that too was front-page news.

While everyone admires a champion, they often love a flawed hero and a return all the more. A six-month ban after a failed drug test for cocaine would have been the finish for most jockeys in their forties, more than enough time for trainers and owners to seek a younger replacement. For Dettori, however, suspension in December 2012 served as a bridge to a revived partnership with trainer John Gosden at Newmarket, and a new series of winners and Classic winners, including Enable, Golden Horn and Stradivarius.

Public Highs and Lows

The public highs and setbacks were a crucial element of Dettori’s story, right up until the embarrassing confession in March that he was filing for bankruptcy following a long-standing disagreement with HMRC over unpaid taxes, a situation that he attempted, and did not succeed, to keep confidential.

There have been numerous turns in his story, in fact, that it can be easy to overlook that absent Dettori’s immense, generational talent, there would be no narrative whatsoever.

Early Talent and Instincts

It was evident from his earliest days as a teenage apprentice that there was an instinctive rapport with the horses whenever Dettori was on board.

Horses ran for him, and got better under him. Back in 1990, he was the first teenager since Piggott to achieve 100 wins in one season, and also announced his emergence at the highest level with two Group One wins at Ascot, on the same card that he would dominate without a loss just six years later. His iconic flying dismount, copied from the US legend Angel Cordero Jr, was incorporated into Dettori’s repertoire 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 position, when to make a move and where openings will emerge.

What Comes Next?

But what next for the recognizable figure of UK horse racing? It will not be easy to finally let go, whether or not Dettori fulfils his apparent desire to accept some mounts in South America, something that I’ve always wanted to do”. This is not, after all, a goal that he had mentioned previously.

But the calamitous decision to follow tax guidance that led to his tax issues means that Dettori will not end his career with sufficient funds in the bank 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 burgeoning Amo Racing enterprise. He explained to Matt Chapman on At The Races on Friday this was the main reason for his exit now, along with the chance to finish at the Breeders’ Cup. “Such chances don’t come along, frequently. I like the set-up – this is a young team with big ambitions,” said the rider.

Joorabchian personally, was effusive in his compliments for his new ambassador at Del Mar on Thursday. “He’s an icon, he is a true legend of the sport,” Joorabchian said. “When you talk about great sportsmen like LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Messis and Pelé and similar figures, Frankie represents 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 worldwide.

“He’s not here|“He isn't here} to amuse audiences, he’s here to actually work and he will be working with us closely. He will be involved in all aspects of our business [but] he won’t be a racing manager. He is an international ambassador.”

Reality TV is another possibility, although earlier outings on Big Brother and I’m A Celebrity … have tended to reveal a moodier side of his personality, 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 will do and how to spend his time once 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 globe's prestigious and dazzling events in the calendar.

The Final Ride

A five-year-old mare called Argine will be Dettori’s last top-level ride in the Breeders’ Cup Mile, the identical event where he achieved his initial Breeders’ Cup win back in 1994. Her form at home indicates that she has something to improve to compete, yet few jockeys historically have excelled in big moments like Frankie Dettori.

One last time, is it time for Frankie?