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It has been an exhilarating, glorious and at times rocky path, yet now, it appears Frankie Dettori's mind is made up. The most storied rider of the past 40 years will effectively head into retirement after the main card during the Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar this Saturday, where he has three opportunities to secure one last top-tier victory to nearly 300 on his record already. The sport might not see a career like his ever again.

A Household Name

Together with racing great Lester Piggott and maybe John McCririck over the past half-century, Frankie Dettori registers with pretty much everyone, without needing a last name. The public knows his identity, even if they have no interest at all in what he does. In today's world which has become divided by digital platforms and online networks, Dettori may well be the last racing figure who will ever experience such immediate brand recognition among a wide segment of the British population.

Dettori’s lifetime in horse racing, after all, dates back to a time when A Question Of Sport often attracted over 10 million viewers, and a three-year stint as a team leader was more than enough to establish him as the bubbly, irrepressible face of the sport. His final year on the program came in 2004, that was also the year when he secured the top jockey award for the third and last occasion. As far as many in the UK, however, he has likely been the champion in most years after that.

A Hard-Earned Fame

This is, in many respects, a hard-earned fame, a mixed blessing for incidents on and off the racecourse which have often pushed Dettori onto the front pages, ever since that memorable day at Ascot in 1996 when he overcame odds of 25,000-1 to ride all seven winners on the card.

In June 2000, he was rescued from a fiery crash of a light aircraft by his fellow rider, Ray Cochrane, after a crash during takeoff in which the plane’s pilot was killed. When at last ended his quest for a Derby victory in 2007, that too was headline news.

And if everyone loves a champion, they often love a flawed hero and a comeback even more. A six-month ban following a positive drug test for cocaine would have been the finish for most jockeys in their 40s, more than enough time for owners and trainers to find a younger alternative. For Dettori, though, his 2012 suspension was a bridge to a renewed association with John Gosden in Newmarket, and a fresh succession of winners and Classic winners, including Enable, Golden Horn and Stradivarius.

Ups and Downs

The celebrated successes and lows have been a crucial element of his narrative, up to and including the embarrassing confession this past March that he was filing for bankruptcy following a long-standing disagreement with HMRC over unpaid taxes, a circumstance that Dettori tried, and failed, to keep private.

There were numerous turns to the tale, in fact, that it can be easy to forget that absent his tremendous, once-in-a-generation skill, there would have been no story at all.

Early Talent and Instincts

It was clear from his earliest days as a young apprentice that he had an instinctive rapport 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 Lester Piggott to achieve 100 wins in one season, and also marked his emergence among the elite with a Group One double at Ascot, on the same card that he would charge through unbeaten only six years later. The famous flying dismount, adopted 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 foresight, 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 won't be simple to step away completely, regardless if Dettori pursues his apparent desire 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 previously.

But the calamitous decision to follow tax guidance that led to his dispute with HMRC indicates that he will not end his career with enough money saved up to relax and take things easy.

Fresh Ventures

He has been confirmed in a new role as an international ambassador with the soccer agent Kia Joorabchian's burgeoning Amo Racing enterprise. Dettori told Matt Chapman on At The Races on Friday this was the main reason for his departure now, as well as being able to finish at the Breeders’ Cup. “These opportunities are rare, very often. I like the set-up – it's a youthful team with big ambitions,” said the rider.

Joorabchian personally, was effusive in his compliments for his new recruit on Thursday at Del Mar. “He’s an icon, a genuine legend in the sport,” he stated. “When discussing elite athletes such as LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Lionel Messi and Pelés and people like that, Frankie represents that to horse racing. When you go into 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 entertain people, he’s here to actually work and he will be collaborate with us very closely. He will participate in every area of our business though he won't serve as a racing manager. He is a global ambassador.”

Television reality shows is another possibility, though previous appearances on Celebrity Big Brother and I'm A Celebrity have tended to reveal a moodier side to Dettori’s character, behind the ebullient public image. In both programs, he was an early exit of the public vote.

It's possible that Dettori personally 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 a top-level professional jockey, focused on three mounts at one of the globe's prestigious and glamorous events on the schedule.

The Final Ride

A five-year-old filly 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 improve to compete, but few riders historically have risen to an occasion like Lanfranco Dettori.

One last time, is it time for Frankie?