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The journey has been a thrilling, glorious and at times bumpy ride, yet now, it seems the famed jockey's decision is final. The most storied jockey over the last 40 years will effectively enter retirement after the main card during the Breeders’ Cup in Del Mar on Saturday, where he has three chances to add a farewell top-tier victory to his almost 300 already in his record. Racing may 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 Dettori registers with almost everybody, no surname required. The public knows who he is, even if they possess absolutely no interest in what he does. In a world that has been fragmented by digital platforms and the internet, Dettori could be the last racing figure who will ever experience such immediate brand recognition across a broad swathe of the British population.

His entire career in the sport, after all, goes back to a time when A Question Of Sport often attracted over 10 million audience members, and a three-year stint as a team captain was sufficient to establish him as the bubbly, unforgettable figure of the sport. His last year on the show came in 2004, which was also the year when he won the top jockey award for the third and final time. As far as many in the UK, however, he has probably been the champion for many seasons after that.

A Hard-Won Celebrity

This is, in many respects, a hard-earned fame, a mixed blessing for incidents both on and off the track that have repeatedly propelled Dettori into the headlines, since the unforgettable afternoon at Ascot in 1996 when he overcame odds of 25,000-1 to ride all seven winners on the card.

Back 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 lost his life. When he finally ended his quest 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 half-year suspension after a failed drug test for cocaine could have been the end of most jockeys in their 40s, plenty of time for trainers and owners to find a younger alternative. For Dettori, however, his 2012 suspension was a bridge to a renewed association with John Gosden at Newmarket, and a fresh succession of champions and Classic winners, including Enable, Golden Horn and Stradivarius.

Ups and Downs

The public highs and lows were a crucial element of his narrative, up to and including the embarrassing confession this past March that he filed for bankruptcy after a prolonged dispute with tax authorities over unpaid taxes, a circumstance that Dettori tried, and did not succeed, to keep private.

There have been so many twists to the tale, indeed, that it can be easy to forget that without Dettori’s immense, generational talent, there would be no narrative whatsoever.

Natural Ability

It was clear from his earliest days as a teenage apprentice that there was a natural connection with the horses whenever Dettori was in the saddle.

Steeds performed for him, and got better under him. In 1990, he was the first teenager since Piggott to reach 100 winners in a season, and also announced his emergence among the elite with two Group One wins at Ascot, on the same day that he would dominate through unbeaten just six years later. The famous flying dismount, copied from the US legend Angel Cordero Jr, was incorporated into Dettori’s repertoire in 1994, and the buzz from riding a big-race winner has never left him. Neither has the talent of sensing, with something akin to clairvoyance, where to position, when to make a move and where the gaps will emerge.

The Future Ahead

But what now for the public face of UK horse racing? It will not be easy to step away completely, whether or not Dettori pursues 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 had mentioned previously.

However, the disastrous choice to follow tax guidance that led to his tax issues indicates that he will not draw down the curtain with enough money in the bank to kick back 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 enterprise. Dettori told 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. “These opportunities 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 in the sport,” he stated. “When you talk about elite athletes like LeBron James, Currys, Messis and Pelé and people like that, Frankie is that for horse racing. When you go into Royal Ascot, you see a statue there, you realize that he has influenced on so many lives across the world.

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

Reality TV is another possibility, though previous appearances on Celebrity Big Brother and I’m A Celebrity … often showed a moodier side to Dettori’s character, beneath the cheerful public image. In both programs, 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 once his race-riding days are over. And for at least 24 hours at least, he stays an elite professional jockey, concentrating on three rides at one of the most prestigious and glamorous events on the schedule.

One Last Mount

A five-year-old mare called 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 performance in Japan indicates that she has something to find to figure, yet few jockeys historically have risen to an occasion like Frankie Dettori.

One last time, cue Frankie?