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The journey has been an exhilarating, magnificent and at times bumpy ride, but this time, it appears Frankie Dettori's mind is made up. The most celebrated rider of the past four decades is set to head into retirement after the main card at the Breeders’ Cup in Del Mar this Saturday, when he will have three opportunities to secure one last top-tier victory to his almost 300 on his record already. The sport might not witness a career quite like it again.

A Household Name

Alongside Lester Piggott and maybe John McCririck in the last half-century, Frankie Dettori is recognized by pretty much everyone, without needing a last name. The public knows who he is, even if they possess no interest at all in what he does. In today's world that has been fragmented by digital platforms and the internet, Dettori could be the last racing figure that will ever enjoy such instant name-recognition across a broad swathe of Britain's people.

Dettori’s lifetime in horse racing, in fact, goes back to a time when A Question Of Sport regularly pulled in over 10 million viewers, and a three-year stint as a team leader was sufficient to cement him as the lively, irrepressible face of the sport. His last year on the program was 2004, which was also the time when he won the Flat jockeys’ title for a third and final time. For many in the UK, however, he has probably been the champion for many seasons after that.

A Hard-Won Celebrity

It is, in many ways, a hard-won celebrity, a double-edged reward for incidents on and off the track which have often pushed Dettori onto the front pages, ever since that memorable day at Ascot in 1996 when he defied odds of 25,000-1 to win all seven races that day.

In June 2000, he was rescued from the burning wreckage of a light aircraft by fellow jockey, Ray Cochrane, after a crash during takeoff where the pilot was killed. When he finally ended his quest for a Derby victory in 2007, that also became front-page news.

While everyone admires a winner, they frequently adore a flawed hero and a comeback even more. A six-month ban after a failed drug test for cocaine would have been the end of most jockeys in their forties, more than enough time for trainers and owners to seek a younger replacement. For Dettori, however, suspension in December 2012 served as a bridge to a revived partnership with trainer John Gosden in Newmarket, and a fresh succession of champions and classic victors, including Enable, Golden Horn and Stradivarius.

Public Highs and Lows

The celebrated successes and setbacks were a crucial element of his narrative, right up until the humiliating admission in March that he was filing for bankruptcy after a prolonged dispute with tax authorities over unpaid taxes, a circumstance that he attempted, and failed, to keep confidential.

There have been so many twists in his story, indeed, that it can be easy to overlook that absent Dettori’s immense, generational talent, there would have been no story at all.

Early Talent and Instincts

It was clear from his earliest days as a teenage apprentice that there was a natural connection between horse and rider when Dettori was on board.

Steeds performed for him, and improved for him. In 1990, he became the first teen since Lester Piggott to reach 100 winners in a season, and also marked his arrival among the elite with a Group One double at Ascot, on the same day that he would dominate through unbeaten only six years later. The famous flying dismount, adopted from the US legend Angel Cordero Jr, was added to his routine in 1994, and the buzz from winning major races has always stayed with him. Nor has the gift of sensing, with almost foresight, where to position, when to make a move and where the gaps will emerge.

The Future Ahead

But what now for the recognizable figure of UK horse racing? It will not be easy to finally let go, regardless if Dettori fulfils his expressed wish to accept some mounts in South America, something that he always wanted to experience”. It is not, in fact, a goal that he had mentioned previously.

But the calamitous decision to follow tax guidance that resulted in his dispute with HMRC indicates that he will not end his career with enough money in the bank to kick back and take it easy.

Fresh Ventures

He has already been confirmed in a new role as an international ambassador with the football super-agent Kia Joorabchian’s growing Amo Racing operation. He explained to Matt Chapman on At The Races on Friday this was the main reason for his exit now, as well as being able to conclude at the Breeders’ Cup. “These opportunities are rare, very often. I appreciate the structure – it's a youthful team with huge goals,” said the rider.

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

“He’s not here|“He isn't here} to entertain people, he's here to work and he will collaborate with us very closely. He will participate in all aspects of our business [but] he won’t be a racing manager. He is a global ambassador.”

Reality TV is another possibility, though previous appearances on Big Brother and I’m A Celebrity … have tended to reveal a more somber aspect to Dettori’s character, beneath the cheerful public persona. On both shows, he was an early casualty due to viewer votes.

It may be that Dettori personally does not really know what he will do and how to spend his time once his riding career ends. And for another 24 hours at least, he remains a top-level professional jockey, focused on three mounts at one of the globe's prestigious and glamorous events in the calendar.

The Final Ride

A five-year-old mare named Argine will be Dettori’s last top-level ride in the Breeders’ Cup Mile, the same race where he achieved 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 Lanfranco Dettori.

One last time, cue Frankie?