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The journey has been a thrilling, magnificent and sometimes rocky path, yet now, it appears the famed jockey's decision is final. The most storied jockey of the past 40 years will effectively enter retirement following the primary events during the Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar on Saturday, where he has three chances to secure one last top-tier victory to his almost 300 already in his record. The sport might not witness a career quite like it again.

A Household Name

Alongside racing great Lester Piggott and perhaps John McCririck over the past 50 years, “Frankie” registers with pretty much everyone, no surname required. The public knows who he is, even if they possess no interest at all in what he does. In a world that has been fragmented by digital platforms and the internet, Dettori may well be the last racing figure that will ever experience such immediate name-recognition across a broad swathe of Britain's people.

His entire career in the sport, in fact, dates back to an era when the show A Question Of Sport regularly pulled in more than 10 million audience members, and his three-year role as a team captain was sufficient to establish him as the lively, irrepressible face of the sport. His final year on the show was 2004, that was also the time when he secured the Flat jockeys’ title for a third and last occasion. As far as many in the UK, however, he has probably been the champion in most years since.

A Hard-Earned Fame

This is, in many ways, a hard-earned fame, a double-edged reward for incidents on and off the track which have often propelled Dettori onto the front pages, since the unforgettable afternoon at Ascot in 1996 when he defied odds of 25,000-1 to ride all seven winners on the card.

Back in June 2000, he was pulled from the burning wreckage of a small plane by fellow jockey, Ray Cochrane, following an accident on takeoff where the pilot was killed. When he finally concluded his pursuit for a Derby victory in 2007, that too was headline news.

While everyone admires a winner, they frequently adore a flawed hero and a return even more. A six-month ban following a positive drug test for cocaine would have been the end of many riders in their forties, plenty of time for owners and trainers to seek a younger replacement. For Dettori, though, his 2012 suspension was a bridge to a revived partnership with John Gosden at Newmarket, and a new series of champions and Classic winners, including Enable, Golden Horn and Stradivarius.

Ups and Downs

The celebrated successes and setbacks were a crucial element of Dettori’s story, up to and including the humiliating admission this past March that he filed for bankruptcy following a long-standing disagreement with tax authorities over unpaid taxes, a circumstance that Dettori tried, and did not succeed, to keep confidential.

There have been numerous turns to the tale, in fact, that it can be easy to overlook that absent Dettori’s immense, once-in-a-generation skill, there would have been no story at all.

Early Talent and Instincts

It was evident from his earliest days as a young apprentice that there was a natural connection with the horses when Dettori was in the saddle.

Steeds performed for him, and improved for him. In 1990, he became the first teen since Lester Piggott to achieve 100 wins in one season, and also announced his emergence among the elite with a Group One double at Ascot, on the same card that he would charge through unbeaten only six years later. The famous flying dismount, copied from the American legend Angel Cordero Jr, was added to his routine in 1994, and the thrill from riding a big-race winner has never left him. Nor has the gift of knowing, with something akin to clairvoyance, where to sit, when to strike and where openings will appear.

What Comes Next?

But what now for the public face of British racing? It will not be easy to finally let go, regardless if Dettori fulfils his expressed wish to accept some mounts in South America, which is something he always wanted to experience”. This is not, in fact, an ambition that he had mentioned previously.

However, the disastrous choice to follow tax guidance that led to his dispute with HMRC indicates that he will not end his career with enough money in the bank to kick back and take things easy.

New Role and Opportunities

He has already been confirmed in a new role as a “global ambassador” with the soccer agent Kia Joorabchian’s burgeoning Amo Racing operation. He explained to racing presenter Matt Chapman last Friday this was the primary reason for his exit now, along with the chance to conclude at the Breeders’ Cup. “These opportunities don’t come along, frequently. I appreciate the structure – it's a youthful team with big ambitions,” said the rider.

Joorabchian, himself, was effusive in his compliments for his new recruit on Thursday at Del Mar. “He is an icon, he is a true legend of the sport,” Joorabchian said. “When discussing great sportsmen such as LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Lionel Messi and Pelés and similar figures, Frankie is that for horse racing. When you go into Royal Ascot, you see a statue there, you know that he’s made a big impact on so many lives worldwide.

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

Television reality shows is another possibility, although earlier outings 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 casualty due to viewer votes.

It's possible that Dettori himself is unsure what he will do and how to spend his time after his riding career are over. And for at least one more day, he stays an elite professional jockey, concentrating on three rides at one of the globe's prestigious and glamorous events on the schedule.

The Final Ride

A five-year-old filly called Argine will be Dettori’s final Grade One mount in the Breeders’ Cup Mile, the identical event where he achieved his initial Breeders’ Cup win in 1994. Her form at home in Japan suggests that she has something to improve to compete, yet few jockeys in history have ever excelled in big moments like Frankie Dettori.

One last time, cue Frankie?