Ten months after announcing he would hang up his riding boots at the end of 2023, Frankie Dettori renounced his retirement instead on Thursday and revealed a change of heart that will move him permanently to the United States to continue his career into 2024 and possibly beyond.
“I’ve still got the fire inside me that I want to do it a little bit more,” the 52-year-old, who has ridden more than 3,300 winners, told BBC Breakfast.
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It was not an entirely unexpected U-turn. Dettori initially pinpointed the Breeders’ Cup meeting at Santa Anita in California next month as his final winning post after 35 years in the saddle but had already pushed it back, first to the Melbourne Cup a few days later and then to include the possibility of a month or two in California around the turn of the year.
That final phase of his career has now been extended indefinitely, with Dettori suggesting he will be fully committed to the US circuit next year when he discussed his about-face on the Nick Luck Daily Podcast on Thursday after doing the broadcast rounds.
“Ten months ago, I announced my retirement, I thought that would give me plenty of time to say my farewells and then I headed to California [in December 2022],” Dettori said.
“I had an amazing four months, finished second in the standings [for Santa Anita’s Winter/Spring season], and I really loved the lifestyle. Then I came back to Europe, won the [2,000] Guineas [on Chaldean], had Royal Ascot wins and other big wins and that tickled my emotions.
“Myself and my wife, Catherine, will move full-time to Los Angeles and do the same as last year, but this time I’m going to stay there for good. When I say for good, it could be three months or three years, but I want to give it a good go on the US circuit, and the international circuit like Saudi [in February] and Dubai [in March] when those dates come along. And the dream is to find a horse for the Kentucky Derby [in early May].
“I want to travel, if I go to Kentucky, Florida, Saratoga, Del Mar, that’s what I’ll do and that’s what excites me, going to uncharted waters that I haven’t done before. It could be madness, it could go completely wrong, but I’m determined to try it and we’ll see what happens.”
Dettori has been in exceptional form, even by his high standards, since his return from California in the spring, prompting speculation for many months that he had been too hasty in starting the countdown to retirement. He set a date to move out of his house in Newmarket, auctioned off hundreds of items of racing memorabilia and hired an agent specialising in high-profile media work, and still the rumours of a possible U-turn did not dissipate entirely.
A brilliant front-running ride on Mostahdaf, as a “spare” after the colt’s regular rider was suspended, in the International Stakes at York in August seems to have been the moment when the possibility of extending his career turned into a probability. “If I was not riding any winners or winning big races, it would have made my decision much easier,” Dettori said, “but at this point, I’m still feeling good and I’ve got to get it out of my system. When I eventually retire, it will be a nice way to accept it, I’d find it very difficult to just stop like that in Europe.”
A genuine contender for the Kentucky Derby and the subsequent “Triple Crown” races at Pimlico and Belmont Park would certainly rule out any return to Britain in the spring of 2024 for the Classic meetings at Newmarket and Epsom. Royal Ascot in mid-June, however, could be a different story, not least as Dettori has a long-standing association with the American trainer Wesley Ward, a regular winner at the royal meeting.
Dettori was still suggesting on Thursday that the Champions Day meeting at Ascot on Saturday week will be his last day riding in Britain, but the bookmakers make him long odds-on to have at least one mount at Royal Ascot next summer, and around 2-1 to ride a winner.
Chepstow: 1.35 Aye Right, 2.10 Resplendent Grey, 2.48 Classic King, 3.23 Inch House, 3.58 Endless Supply, 4.33 Lebowski, 5.08 Puddlesinthepark
Newmarket: 1.50 Zoulu Chief, 2.25 Chic Colombine, 3.00 Matilda Picotte, 3.35 Satin (nap), 4.10 Shuwari (nb), 4.45 Vicario, 5.20 Enchanted Life, 5.55 Boogie Woogie
York: 2.05 Pilgrim, 2.40 Kingfisher King, 3.15 Grey Cuban, 3.50 Zozimus, 4.25 Mc Loven, 5.00 Never Dark, 5.35 Kalganov
Newcastle: 4.20 Valley Of Flowers, 4.52 Indemnity, 5.27 Milltown Lily, 6.00 Fools Rush In, 6.30 Garfield Shadow, 7.00 Townsend Manor, 7.30 Cool Run, 8.00 Autumn Flight, 8.30 Woobay
Once he starts to call California home, however, Dettori’s trips to Europe seem sure to be very few and far between. He is, in some senses, semi-retired here already, having taken only 117 rides in Britain in 2023. The climate, the significantly higher prize money and relative lack of travelling on the Californian circuit will all work in his favour as he returns to the track where he honed his race-riding technique as a 17-year-old apprentice.
So Champions Day is still likely to be a farewell of sorts, only not the once-and-for-all, ride into the sunset moment it would otherwise have been. Dettori has always been a great showman in the PT Barnum mould, so perhaps it should be no real surprise that when he leaves them wanting more at Ascot next weekend, there will be a clear possibility that another encore (or two) is in the pipeline.
