For years, racing has wondered what it will do without Frankie Dettori, who took over from Lester Piggott as the sport’s greatest headline-grabber and has now held the mantle for more than three decades. In a little less than 11 months’ time we will finally find out, after Dettori’s disclosure to ITV Racing on Saturday that the 2023 Flat season will be his final campaign in the saddle.
Dettori, as he always intended, will bow out at the top, probably on 4 November 2023 at the Breeders’ Cup meeting at Santa Anita, the track where he steered Raven’s Pass to the first – and still only – success for a British-trained runner in the Breeders’ Cup Classic.
