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It has been a thrilling, magnificent and at times bumpy ride, yet now, it appears Frankie Dettori's decision is final. The most celebrated rider of the past four decades is set to head into retirement after the main card during the Breeders’ Cup in Del Mar on Saturday, when he will have three opportunities to add a farewell top-tier victory to nearly 300 already in his record. The sport might not witness a career quite like it again.

A Household Name

Alongside Lester Piggott and perhaps John McCririck in the last 50 years, “Frankie” registers with almost everybody, without needing a last name. The public knows who he is, even if they have absolutely no interest in his profession. In a world that has been fragmented by social media and online networks, Dettori could be the last racing figure who will ever experience such immediate name-recognition among a wide segment of Britain's people.

His entire career in the sport, in fact, dates back to a time when A Question Of Sport often attracted more than 10 million audience members, and a three-year stint as a team captain was more than enough to establish him as the lively, irrepressible face of the sport. His final year on the show came in 2004, that was also the year when he secured the top jockey award for a third and final time. As far as many in the UK, however, he has probably been the top jockey for many seasons after that.

A Hard-Earned Fame

It is, in many ways, a hard-earned fame, a double-edged reward for incidents both on and off the racecourse that have repeatedly pushed Dettori into the headlines, since that memorable day at Ascot in 1996 when he defied odds of 25,000-1 to win all seven races on the card.

In June 2000, he was rescued from a fiery crash of a small plane by fellow jockey, 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 also became headline news.

And if everyone loves a champion, they frequently adore an imperfect hero and a comeback all the more. A six-month ban following a positive drug test for cocaine would have been the finish for many riders in their 40s, plenty of time for trainers and owners to find a younger alternative. For Dettori, however, suspension in December 2012 served as a bridge to a revived partnership with trainer John Gosden in Newmarket, and a new series of winners and classic victors, including Enable, Golden Horn and Stradivarius.

Ups and Downs

The celebrated successes and setbacks have been a crucial element of his narrative, right up until the embarrassing confession this past March that he was filing for bankruptcy after a prolonged dispute with tax authorities over unpaid taxes, a circumstance that Dettori tried, and did not succeed, to keep confidential.

There were numerous turns in his story, in fact, that it's easy to forget that without his tremendous, generational talent, there would be no narrative whatsoever.

Early Talent and Instincts

It was clear from his earliest days as a young apprentice that he had a natural connection with the horses when Dettori was in the saddle.

Steeds performed for him, and improved for him. Back in 1990, he became the first teen since Lester Piggott to achieve 100 wins in a season, and also marked his arrival among the elite with two Group One wins at Ascot, on the same day that he would dominate through unbeaten only six years later. The famous flying dismount, copied 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 always stayed with him. Nor has the gift of sensing, with something akin to foresight, where to position, when to strike and where the gaps will emerge.

The Future Ahead

But what now 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 take “a few rides in South America, which is something I’ve always wanted to do”. This is not, in fact, an ambition that he had mentioned previously.

But the calamitous decision to accept the tax advice that led to his dispute with HMRC means that Dettori will not end his career with enough money saved up to relax and take things easy.

New Role and Opportunities

He has already been appointed to a new position as an international ambassador with the football super-agent Kia Joorabchian's growing Amo Racing enterprise. Dettori told racing presenter Matt Chapman on Friday this was the primary reason for his exit now, as well as being able to finish at the Breeders’ Cup. “These opportunities are rare, frequently. I appreciate the structure – this is a young team with big ambitions,” said the rider.

Joorabchian, himself, was gushing in his praise for his new recruit on Thursday at Del Mar. “He is an icon, he is a true legend in the sport,” he stated. “When you talk about elite athletes like LeBron James, Currys, Messis and Pelé and people like that, Frankie represents that for horse racing. When you go into Royal Ascot, you see a statue there, you know that he has influenced countless 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 be involved in all aspects of our operations though he won't serve as a racing manager. He is an international ambassador.”

Television reality shows is another possibility, although earlier outings on Big Brother and I'm A Celebrity often showed a moodier side to Dettori’s character, behind the ebullient public persona. On both shows, he was an early exit due to viewer votes.

It's possible that Dettori himself does not really know what he will do and how he will fill his time once his riding career ends. And for another one more day, he stays a top-level professional jockey, focused on three rides at one of the globe's prestigious and dazzling events in the calendar.

One Last Mount

A five-year-old mare named Argine will be his last top-level ride in the Breeders’ Cup Mile, the identical event in which he registered his first Breeders’ Cup success back in 1994. Her performance in Japan in Japan suggests that she needs to find to figure, yet few jockeys in history have ever excelled in big moments like Frankie Dettori.

For one final time, cue Frankie?