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The journey has been an exhilarating, glorious and at times bumpy ride, yet now, it appears Frankie Dettori's mind is made up. The most storied jockey over the last 40 years is set to head into retirement following the primary events at the Breeders’ Cup in Del Mar this Saturday, where he has three opportunities to add a farewell Grade One winner to his almost 300 already in his record. The sport might not witness a career like his ever again.

An Iconic Figure

Together with Lester Piggott and perhaps John McCririck in the last half-century, “Frankie” registers with almost everybody, no surname required. People know who he is, even if they have absolutely no interest in his profession. In today's world that has been divided by social media and the internet, Dettori may well be the last racing figure who will ever experience such immediate name-recognition across a broad swathe of the British population.

Dettori’s lifetime in the sport, after all, goes back to a time when the show A Question Of Sport regularly pulled in over 10 million viewers, and a three-year stint as a team captain was sufficient to cement him as the lively, irrepressible face of the sport. His final year on the show came in 2004, that was also the time when he secured the top jockey award for a third and last occasion. As far as much of the British public, though, he has probably been the top jockey in most years after that.

A Hard-Won Celebrity

This is, in many ways, a hard-won celebrity, a double-edged reward for incidents on and off the track that have repeatedly pushed Dettori into the headlines, since that memorable day at Ascot in 1996 when he overcame odds of 25,000-1 to ride all seven winners that day.

Back in June 2000, he was pulled from a fiery crash of a small plane by fellow jockey, Ray Cochrane, after a crash on takeoff in which the plane’s pilot was killed. When at last concluded his pursuit for a Derby victory in 2007, that too was front-page news.

And if everyone loves a champion, they frequently adore a flawed hero and a comeback all the more. A six-month ban after a failed drug test for cocaine would have been the end of many riders in their forties, plenty of time for trainers and owners to seek a younger replacement. For Dettori, however, suspension in December 2012 served as a bridge to a renewed association with trainer John Gosden at Newmarket, and a new series of champions and classic victors, including Enable, Golden Horn and Stradivarius.

Public Highs and Lows

The celebrated successes and setbacks have been a crucial element of Dettori’s story, right up until the humiliating admission in March that he was filing for bankruptcy after a prolonged dispute with HMRC regarding unpaid taxes, a circumstance that he attempted, and did not succeed, to keep private.

There were numerous turns to the tale, indeed, that it's easy to overlook that absent his tremendous, generational talent, there would be no story at all.

Early Talent and Instincts

It was evident from his earliest days as a young apprentice that he had a natural connection between horse and rider when Dettori was in the saddle.

Horses ran for him, and got better under him. In 1990, he was the first teenager since Piggott to reach 100 winners in a season, and also marked his arrival among the elite with two Group One wins at Ascot, on the same card that he would dominate without a loss 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 thrill 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 make a move and where openings will emerge.

What Comes Next?

But what next for the public face of British racing? It won't be simple to finally let go, regardless if Dettori fulfils his expressed wish to accept some mounts in South America, something that he always wanted to do”. This is not, after all, an ambition that he has mentioned until now.

However, the disastrous choice to follow tax guidance that resulted in his tax issues indicates that he will not draw down the curtain with enough money in the bank to relax and take it easy.

New Role and Opportunities

He has already been confirmed in a new role as an international ambassador with the soccer agent Kia Joorabchian's growing Amo Racing operation. Dettori told Matt Chapman on At The Races on Friday this was the primary reason for his departure now, along with the chance to conclude at the Breeders’ Cup. “These opportunities are rare, frequently. I appreciate the structure – this is a young team with huge goals,” said the rider.

Joorabchian personally, was gushing in his praise for his new ambassador at Del Mar on Thursday. “He is an icon, he is a true legend in the sport,” Joorabchian said. “When discussing great sportsmen such as LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Messis and Pelé and similar figures, Frankie is that for horse racing. When visiting Royal Ascot, you notice a statue, you realize that he’s made a big impact countless lives across the world.

“He’s not here|“He isn't here} to amuse audiences, he's here to work and he will working with us very closely. He will be involved in every area of our business [but] he won’t be a racing manager. He is an international ambassador.”

Reality TV is another possibility, though previous appearances on Celebrity Big Brother and I’m A Celebrity … have tended to reveal a moodier side to Dettori’s character, beneath the cheerful public image. On both shows, he was an early exit of the public vote.

It's possible that Dettori personally does not really know what he will do and how to spend his time after his riding career are over. And for at least 24 hours at least, he stays an elite professional jockey, focused on three rides at one of the most prestigious and glamorous events in the calendar.

The Final Ride

A five-year-old mare named Argine will be Dettori’s final Grade One mount in the Breeders’ Cup Mile, the identical event in which he registered his first Breeders’ Cup success in 1994. Her performance in Japan indicates that she needs to improve to compete, yet few jockeys in history have ever risen to an occasion like Lanfranco Dettori.

One last time, cue Frankie?