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The journey has been an exhilarating, glorious and at times bumpy ride, but this time, it appears Frankie Dettori's mind is made up. The most storied jockey of the past four decades is set to head into retirement after the main card at the Breeders’ Cup in Del Mar this Saturday, when he will have three opportunities to secure one last Grade One winner to his almost 300 on his record already. Racing may not see a career quite like it again.

An Iconic Figure

Alongside racing great Lester Piggott and maybe John McCririck in the last half-century, Frankie Dettori registers with almost everybody, without needing a last name. People know who he is, even if they possess absolutely no interest in what he does. In today's world that has been fragmented by digital platforms and online networks, Dettori may well be the last racing figure that will ever experience such immediate name-recognition among a wide segment of the British population.

Dettori’s lifetime in horse racing, in fact, goes back to an era when A Question Of Sport regularly pulled in more than 10 million audience members, and his three-year role as a team captain was more than enough to cement him as the lively, unforgettable figure of racing. His last year on the show came in 2004, that was also the time when he secured the top jockey award for the third and last occasion. As far as much of the British public, though, he has likely 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 incidents on and off the racecourse that have repeatedly pushed Dettori onto the front pages, ever since that memorable day 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 in which the plane’s pilot lost his life. When he finally concluded his pursuit for a Derby winner in 2007, that also became headline news.

And if everyone loves a champion, they often love a flawed hero and a comeback all the more. A six-month ban after a failed drug test for cocaine would have been the end of many riders in their 40s, more than enough 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 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 setbacks were a crucial element of his narrative, up to and including the embarrassing confession in March that he filed for bankruptcy after a prolonged dispute with HMRC over unpaid taxes, a situation that Dettori tried, and did not succeed, to keep confidential.

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

Early Talent and Instincts

It was clear from his earliest days as a teenage apprentice that he had a natural connection between horse and rider when Dettori was on board.

Horses ran for him, and got better under him. Back in 1990, he became the first teen since Piggott to achieve 100 wins in one season, and also announced his emergence 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. 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 sensing, with almost foresight, where to position, when to strike and where the gaps will appear.

What Comes Next?

But what next for the recognizable figure of British racing? It won't be simple to finally let go, whether or not Dettori fulfils his expressed wish to accept some mounts in South America, which is something he always wanted to experience”. This is not, in fact, an ambition that he had mentioned until now.

However, the disastrous choice to follow tax guidance that resulted in his tax issues means that Dettori will not end his career with sufficient funds saved up to kick back and take it easy.

Fresh Ventures

He has already been confirmed in a new role as an international ambassador with the football super-agent Kia Joorabchian’s burgeoning Amo Racing enterprise. 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 don’t come along, very often. I like the set-up – it's a youthful team with big ambitions,” explained the jockey.

Joorabchian personally, was gushing in his praise for his new ambassador on Thursday at Del Mar. “He’s an icon, he is a true legend in the sport,” he stated. “When you talk about elite athletes like LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Messis and Pelé and people like that, Frankie represents that for horse racing. When you go into Royal Ascot, you see a statue there, you realize that he’s made a big impact countless lives across the world.

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

Television reality shows are another option, though previous appearances on Big Brother and I'm A Celebrity often showed a more somber aspect 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 personally does not really know what he will do and how to spend his time once his race-riding days are over. And for at least 24 hours at least, he remains a top-level professional jockey, concentrating on three rides at one of the most prestigious and dazzling events in the calendar.

The Final Ride

A five-year-old mare named Argine will be Dettori’s final Grade One mount in the Breeders’ Cup Mile, the identical event in which he registered his first Breeders’ Cup success in 1994. Her form at home indicates that she needs to improve to compete, yet few jockeys historically have risen to an occasion like Frankie Dettori.

For one final time, cue Frankie?