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The journey has been an exhilarating, magnificent and at times rocky path, yet now, it seems the famed jockey's mind is made up. The most storied jockey of the past four decades will effectively head into retirement after the main card during the Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar on Saturday, when he will have three opportunities to add a farewell top-tier victory to nearly 300 already in his record. Racing may not see a career like his ever again.

An Iconic Figure

Together with racing great Lester Piggott and maybe John McCririck over the past half-century, Frankie Dettori is recognized by pretty much everyone, no surname required. People know who he is, even if they possess 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 final equestrian personality that will ever enjoy such instant name-recognition across a broad swathe of Britain's people.

Dettori’s lifetime in horse racing, in fact, dates back to an era when the show A Question Of Sport regularly pulled in over 10 million viewers, and his three-year role as a team captain was more than enough to cement him as the lively, irrepressible face of the sport. His last year on the show came in 2004, which was also the time when he won the Flat jockeys’ title for the third and final time. As far as many in the UK, though, he has probably been the champion for many seasons since.

A Hard-Won Celebrity

It is, in many ways, a hard-won celebrity, a mixed blessing for incidents on and off the track which have often propelled Dettori onto the front pages, ever since the unforgettable afternoon at Ascot in 1996 when he overcame massive 25,000-1 odds to win all seven races on the card.

Back in June 2000, he was rescued from a fiery crash of a small plane by his fellow rider, Ray Cochrane, following an accident on takeoff where the pilot lost his life. When at last concluded his pursuit for a Derby winner in 2007, that too was headline news.

And if everyone loves a winner, they frequently adore an imperfect hero and a comeback even more. A six-month ban following a positive drug test for cocaine could have been the end of most jockeys in their 40s, more than enough time for owners and trainers to seek a younger replacement. For Dettori, however, his 2012 suspension served as a bridge to a renewed association with trainer John Gosden at Newmarket, and a fresh succession of champions and Classic winners, including Enable, Golden Horn and Stradivarius.

Ups and Downs

The celebrated successes and setbacks were a crucial element of his narrative, right up until the humiliating admission in March that he was filing for bankruptcy after a prolonged dispute with tax authorities regarding unpaid taxes, a situation that Dettori tried, and failed, to keep private.

There have been numerous turns in his story, in fact, that it's easy to overlook that absent his tremendous, generational talent, there would have been no story at all.

Early Talent and Instincts

It was clear from the start as a teenage apprentice that there was an instinctive rapport between horse and rider whenever Dettori was in the saddle.

Horses ran for him, and got better under him. Back in 1990, he was the first teenager since Lester Piggott to achieve 100 wins in a season, and also announced his arrival among the elite with two Group One wins at Ascot, on the same card that he would dominate through unbeaten only six years later. The famous flying dismount, copied from the American legend Angel Cordero Jr, was incorporated into Dettori’s repertoire in 1994, and the thrill from winning major races has never left him. Neither has the talent of sensing, with almost clairvoyance, where to position, when to make a move and where openings will emerge.

The Future Ahead

But what now for the recognizable figure of UK horse 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 do”. It is not, after all, a goal that he had mentioned previously.

But the calamitous decision to follow tax guidance that resulted in his dispute with HMRC means that Dettori will not draw down the curtain with sufficient funds saved up to relax and take it easy.

New Role and Opportunities

He has been appointed to a new position as a “global ambassador” with the football super-agent Kia Joorabchian’s growing Amo Racing enterprise. Dettori told Matt Chapman on At The Races last Friday this was the main reason for his exit now, along with the chance to finish at the Breeders’ Cup. “Such chances don’t come along, frequently. I appreciate the structure – it's a youthful team with huge goals,” said the rider.

Joorabchian, himself, was gushing in his praise for his new ambassador at Del Mar on Thursday. “He’s an icon, a genuine legend of the sport,” Joorabchian said. “When discussing elite athletes like LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Messis and Pelés and people like that, Frankie represents that for horse racing. When visiting Royal Ascot, you notice a statue, you know that he’s made a big impact on so many lives worldwide.

“He’s not here|“He isn't here} to amuse audiences, he’s here to actually work and he will working with us very closely. He will participate in every area of our operations [but] he won’t be a racing manager. He is a global 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, behind the ebullient public image. On both shows, he was an early exit due to viewer votes.

It may be that Dettori himself is unsure what he'll do and how to spend his time after his riding career are over. And for another one more day, he stays a top-level professional jockey, concentrating on three mounts at one of the globe's prestigious and dazzling events in the calendar.

The Final Ride

A five-year-old filly called Argine will be Dettori’s last top-level ride in the Breeders’ Cup Mile, the same race where he achieved his first Breeders’ Cup success in 1994. Her performance in Japan indicates that she needs to improve to compete, yet few jockeys historically have excelled in big moments like Lanfranco Dettori.

One last time, cue Frankie?