One of the greatest jockeys of all time, Frankie Dettori has announced that next season will be his last and that he will call time on his glittering career in 2023.
Dettori will begin his global farewell tour at Santa Anita on Dec. 26 and could well bring the curtain down at that same venue at the 2023 Breeders' Cup.
Dropping the bombshell on ITV Racing on Saturday morning, Dettori said, “Next year, 2023, will be my final professional year as a jockey. It's something I've been thinking about for a while.
“My heart wants to carry on riding but I have to use my brain. I want to stop at the top. It has been difficult but I think it's the right time.”
He added, “The plan is I am riding Boxing Day in Santa Anita and I'm planning to spend 10 weeks in California.
“I should make my way back via Dubai and Saudi and I guess start my [British] season in Newmarket.
“I will be riding right through, obviously it will be my last Guineas, my last Derby, my last Royal Ascot so on and so forth and then will probably finish [in Britain] at either Champions Day at Ascot or at Newmarket. The final farewell as a professional rider will be in California at the Breeders' Cup.”
Dettori insists the decision to call it a day is not one he has taken lightly.
“It is a very difficult decision because my heart wants to carry on riding, but I have had to use my brain and I've just turned 52 and next year I'll be 53,” he continued.
“I want to be competitive enough to do my owners and my horses justice next year and I think I'm still in that bracket of being good. It was difficult, but it is the right time.
“I spoke to my dad at length. My dad stopped at 51, he is very supporting and I also had to speak to my wife and children who are delighted because they have barely seen me for 35 years!
“I've been thinking about it for a few weeks and I've decided with the firepower I have next year and the horses I have to ride I can finish my career on a big note. Fingers crossed I stay in one piece and we'll give it a good go next year.
“Look at Ronaldo, one day he was playing and he's on the bench the next. I don't want to end up like that and end up where I'm struggling to get rides in the big races. At the moment I still have good horses to ride and I want to finish like that.”
The 52-year-old has been crowned champion jockey three times in Britain and has hogged the headlines for the majority of his career, including when winning all seven races at a high-profile Ascot meeting in 1996.
The long-time number one rider for Godolphin, Detorri parted company with the world-famous racing operation in 2012 and served a six-moth drugs ban soon after the split.
He has been based with John Gosden, for whom he will again ride as number one for in 2023, since 2015, although the pair's relationship was put under well-documented strain this summer after a disappointing Royal Ascot.
However, it is alongside Gosden that Dettori has enjoyed some of his greatest days on a racecourse, and the trainer said he felt the rider was making a good decision to retire next year.
Gosden commented, “Frankie and I discussed this whole matter last week in some depth and we've had a 30-year association together. It is essential that he goes out at the top. Being an elite athlete at any age is incredibly demanding, never mind at 52 years of age.
“He has been riding for me since the early nineties. He came to me in 1993 and he was champion jockey in 1994 and 1995 which showed his amazing class and ability as both a jockey and an athlete. He then went to Godolphin after that and had a wonderful career with them.
“Things slightly went into a dip after that period and it was about 2013/14 that William Buick was our jockey here and he transferred to Godolphin and Frankie had left Godolphin some two or three years before then. But of course with William going there it created a vacancy for Frankie to come back.”
Since reuniting, Gosden and Dettori have combined to win three G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphes–with Golden Horn (GB) in 2015 and with Enable (GB) in 2017 and 2018–and three Classics.
On their success, Gosden continued, “We've had since 2015 the most amazing and extraordinary time together, thanks mainly to all the wonderful horses we've had here and the owners who support our stable.
“But since then the list is endless of top-class Group 1 horses, Golden Horn, Stradivarius (Ire), Enable, Palace Pier (GB)–when you're operating at that level there are some pretty amazing horses.
“So we've had a great run here and he had a good year last year. But I think there comes a time when a great rider like this needs to know when to hang up his boots.
“We've all seen footballers, boxers–anybody really–try to stay a bit too long at something and I think to get to 52 is an amazing achievement.
“I think he'll go on this world tour now starting off in California and winding up in California at the end of the year in November and that's what he wants to do, to be riding all over the place, but obviously based out of England.”
Greatness exists in us all, but not everyone gets to show it to the world. Enjoy Frankie for the next year everyone. Take it all in @FrankieDettori it will be gone in a flash. https://t.co/OxNiR6FBMb
— AP McCoy (@AP_McCoy) December 17, 2022
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