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It has been a thrilling, glorious and at times rocky path, yet now, it appears the famed jockey's decision is final. The most storied rider over the last four decades is set to head into retirement after the main card during the Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar this Saturday, where he has three chances to add a farewell Grade One winner to nearly 300 already in his record. Racing may not witness a career quite like it again.

An Iconic Figure

Alongside 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 have no interest at all in his profession. In a world which has become divided by digital platforms and online networks, Dettori could be the final equestrian personality who will ever experience such immediate brand recognition among a wide segment of Britain's people.

Dettori’s lifetime in horse racing, after all, dates back to an era when A Question Of Sport often attracted over 10 million viewers, and his three-year role as a team captain was sufficient to cement him as the lively, irrepressible face of the sport. His last year on the program came in 2004, that 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 probably been the top jockey in most years since.

A Hard-Won Celebrity

It is, in many ways, a hard-won celebrity, a double-edged reward for events on and off the track that have repeatedly pushed Dettori into the headlines, since the unforgettable afternoon at Ascot in 1996 when he defied odds of 25,000-1 to ride all seven winners on the card.

In June 2000, he was pulled from a fiery crash of a small plane by fellow jockey, Ray Cochrane, after a crash during takeoff where the pilot was killed. When at last ended his quest for a Derby victory in 2007, that too was headline news.

While everyone admires a champion, they often love an imperfect hero and a comeback all the more. A six-month ban after a failed drug test for cocaine would have been the finish for most jockeys in their 40s, more than enough time for trainers and owners to find a younger alternative. For Dettori, though, his 2012 suspension was a bridge to a renewed association with John Gosden at Newmarket, and a fresh succession of winners and classic victors, including Enable, Golden Horn and Stradivarius.

Ups and Downs

The celebrated successes and setbacks were an essential part of Dettori’s story, up to and including the humiliating admission in March that he was filing for bankruptcy after a prolonged dispute with tax authorities regarding unpaid taxes, a circumstance that he attempted, and failed, to keep confidential.

There have been numerous turns to the tale, indeed, that it can be easy to forget that without his tremendous, generational talent, there would have been no story at all.

Early Talent and Instincts

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

Steeds performed for him, and improved for him. Back in 1990, he was the first teenager since Piggott to reach 100 winners 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 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 always stayed with him. Neither has the talent of sensing, with something akin to clairvoyance, where to position, when to make a move and where openings will appear.

What Comes Next?

But what next for the public face of British 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, which is something he always wanted to do”. It is not, after all, an ambition that he has mentioned previously.

However, the disastrous choice to accept the tax advice that led to his dispute with HMRC indicates that Dettori will not draw down the curtain with sufficient funds in the bank to relax and take things easy.

New Role and Opportunities

He has already been confirmed in a new role as an international ambassador with the soccer agent Kia Joorabchian's growing 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 conclude at the Breeders’ Cup. “These opportunities are rare, very often. I appreciate the structure – it's a youthful team with big ambitions,” explained the jockey.

Joorabchian, himself, was effusive in his compliments for his new ambassador at Del Mar on Thursday. “He’s an icon, a genuine legend of the sport,” Joorabchian said. “When discussing great sportsmen like LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Messis and Pelés and people like that, Frankie is that to horse racing. When visiting Royal Ascot, you notice a statue, you realize that he’s made a big impact countless lives across the world.

“He’s not here|“He isn't here} to entertain people, he's here to work and he will collaborate with us 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 are another option, although earlier outings on Celebrity Big Brother and I’m A Celebrity … have tended to reveal a more somber aspect to Dettori’s character, behind the ebullient public image. In both programs, he was an early exit of the public vote.

It may be that Dettori personally is unsure what he'll do and how to spend his time once his race-riding days are over. And for another one more day, he stays a top-level 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 his last top-level ride in the Breeders’ Cup Mile, the same race in which he registered his first Breeders’ Cup success back in 1994. Her form at home indicates that she needs to find to figure, yet few jockeys historically have risen to an occasion like Lanfranco Dettori.

For one final time, is it time for Frankie?