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It has been a thrilling, magnificent and at times rocky path, yet now, it seems Frankie Dettori's decision is final. The most storied jockey over the last four decades is set to enter retirement after the main card during the Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar this Saturday, where he has three chances to add a farewell top-tier victory to nearly 300 on his record already. The sport might not see a career quite like it again.

An Iconic Figure

Alongside racing great Lester Piggott and perhaps John McCririck in the last half-century, Frankie Dettori is recognized by pretty much everyone, no surname required. The public knows his identity, even if they possess absolutely no interest in what he does. In a world that has been divided by digital platforms and online networks, Dettori could be the final equestrian personality that will ever experience such immediate name-recognition across a broad swathe of the British population.

Dettori’s lifetime in horse racing, after all, goes back to an era when A Question Of Sport often attracted over 10 million viewers, and his three-year role as a team leader was sufficient to cement him as the bubbly, irrepressible face of the sport. His last year on the program was 2004, which was also the year when he won the top jockey award for the third and final time. For many in the UK, however, he has likely been the top jockey for many seasons after that.

A Hard-Won Celebrity

It is, in many respects, a hard-won celebrity, a double-edged reward for events both on and off the racecourse which have often propelled Dettori into the headlines, ever since the unforgettable afternoon at Ascot in 1996 when he defied odds of 25,000-1 to ride all seven winners that day.

In June 2000, he was rescued from a fiery crash of a small plane by his fellow rider, Ray Cochrane, following an accident during takeoff in which the plane’s pilot was killed. When he finally concluded his pursuit for a Derby victory in 2007, that too was headline news.

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

Public Highs and Lows

The celebrated successes and setbacks have been a crucial element of his narrative, right up until the humiliating admission this past March that he filed for bankruptcy after a prolonged dispute with tax authorities regarding unpaid taxes, a situation that Dettori tried, and did not succeed, to keep private.

There have been numerous turns to the tale, in fact, that it's easy to forget that absent Dettori’s immense, generational talent, there would be no story at all.

Natural Ability

It was evident from his earliest days as a young apprentice that he had an instinctive rapport with the horses when Dettori was on board.

Horses ran for him, and got better under him. In 1990, he became the first teen since Lester 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 charge through unbeaten only six years later. His iconic flying dismount, adopted from the American legend Angel Cordero Jr, was incorporated into his routine in 1994, and the buzz from riding a big-race winner has never left him. Nor has the gift of sensing, with something akin to clairvoyance, where to sit, when to make a move and where the gaps will appear.

What Comes Next?

But what next for the public face of UK horse racing? It will not be easy to step away completely, regardless if Dettori pursues his expressed wish to accept some mounts in South America, something that he always wanted to experience”. This is not, after all, a goal that he has mentioned until now.

But the calamitous decision to accept the tax advice that led to his dispute with HMRC means that he will not draw down the curtain with sufficient funds in the bank to relax and take it easy.

New Role and Opportunities

He has already been confirmed in a new role as a “global ambassador” with the football super-agent Kia Joorabchian’s growing Amo Racing enterprise. He explained to racing presenter Matt Chapman on Friday this was the main reason for his departure now, as well as being able to finish at the Breeders’ Cup. “These opportunities don’t come along, very often. I appreciate the structure – it's a youthful team with huge goals,” explained the jockey.

Joorabchian personally, was gushing in his praise for his new recruit on Thursday at Del Mar. “He’s an icon, a genuine legend in 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 realize that he has influenced on so many lives across the world.

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

Reality TV is another possibility, though previous appearances on Big Brother and I’m A Celebrity … have tended to reveal a moodier side of his personality, beneath the cheerful public persona. In both programs, he was an early casualty of the public vote.

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 ends. And for another 24 hours at least, he stays a top-level professional jockey, focused on three mounts at one of the most prestigious and glamorous events on the schedule.

One Last Mount

A five-year-old mare named Argine will be his final Grade One mount in the Breeders’ Cup Mile, the same race where he achieved his initial Breeders’ Cup win back in 1994. Her performance in Japan in Japan suggests that she has something to find to figure, yet few jockeys historically have risen to an occasion like Lanfranco Dettori.

For one final time, cue Frankie?