A collection of Frankie Dettori’s awards and riding gear has sold at auction for tens of thousands of pounds after the horse racing great had a clear-out.
The 52-year-old jockey, who plans to retire after Ascot in October, put 126 items up for sale as he plans to “scale down” the family home in Newmarket, Suffolk.
Among them was Dettori’s trophy from his Epsom Oaks win in June 2023, which sold for £5,000 to a UK buyer at an online auction run by Cheffins in Cambridge, which concluded this week.
This could be his last win in a Classic race should he not win the St Leger in September.
Also sold were a pair of signed racing boots from a race in Saudi Arabia for £2,800 and a signed racing saddle used by Dettori at Epsom, which achieved £1,400.
A set of royal blue ex-Godolphin silks went for £4,600 to a buyer from Japan, and a trophy from a 37th race meeting from HH Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani from Qatar was sold for £3,200.
Dettori’s jockey weighing scales, which were given to Dettori by champion American jockey Steve Cauthen and which Dettori claims he has been “jumping on and off for over 30 years”, and which have been signed, were sold for £550.
Speaking before the sale, Dettori said: “We’re scaling down and I’ve got so much stuff, we thought we might as well just auction it.
“I didn’t realise because they end up in drawers, in cupboards, in the cellar, I mean they’re all over the place.
“Now we’re clearing up a lot of stuff, we didn’t realise how much accumulated in so many years.”
He continued: “All my kids have branched out so it’s only myself and Catherine my wife left so we’re planning to rent the house, scale down and move towards London a bit.
“And I’d like to travel the world a bit.”
He said he feels it is the “right time” to retire, and “wanted to stop at the top”.
He said some of the proceeds of the auction will go to the charity Direct Aid For Africa (Dafa), and some will go to his five children, adding: “My daughter’s getting married next year but she hasn’t fixed a date yet.”
Harriet Lusty, deputy saleroom manager at Cheffins, said: “This auction brought buyers from the world over to Cheffins, with bidders online from Australia, Hong Kong, USA, Japan, the UK and throughout Europe.
“This really was a one-off opportunity for many of Frankie’s army of fans to buy a part of sporting history and own a piece of memorabilia from one of the greatest sports personalities worldwide.
“As Frankie is such a household name and easily the most famous person in the history of horse racing, we did expect to see a great deal of interest in this sale, however some of the prices achieved for the more important lots have been unprecedented.
“We were delighted to be able to assist the Dettori family in scaling down the numbers of trophies and memorabilia items kept at the house and would like to congratulate the lucky buyers who were successful during the sale.”
