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It has been a thrilling, glorious and sometimes bumpy ride, but this time, it seems the famed jockey's mind is made up. The most storied rider over the last 40 years will effectively head into retirement after the main card during the Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar this Saturday, when he will have three chances to add a farewell Grade One winner to nearly 300 on his record already. Racing may not see a career like his ever again.

An Iconic Figure

Together with racing great Lester Piggott and perhaps John McCririck in the last 50 years, Frankie Dettori is recognized by pretty much everyone, no surname required. People know his identity, even if they have no interest at all in what he does. In today's world that has been fragmented by digital platforms and online networks, Dettori could be the final equestrian personality who will ever experience such immediate name-recognition among a wide segment of Britain's people.

Dettori’s lifetime in horse racing, 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 leader was more than enough to cement him as the bubbly, unforgettable figure of the sport. His last year on the show was 2004, which was also the year when he won the Flat jockeys’ title for a third and final time. For many in the UK, however, he has probably been the top jockey for many seasons since.

A Hard-Won Celebrity

It is, in many ways, a hard-earned fame, a double-edged reward for events on and off the track which have often pushed Dettori into the headlines, since the unforgettable afternoon at Ascot in 1996 when he defied massive 25,000-1 odds to ride all seven winners that day.

Back in June 2000, he was rescued from the burning wreckage of a light aircraft by fellow jockey, Ray Cochrane, following an accident during takeoff in which the plane’s pilot was killed. When at last concluded his pursuit for a Derby winner in 2007, that too was headline news.

And if everyone loves a champion, they frequently adore an imperfect hero and a comeback all the more. A six-month ban after a failed drug test for cocaine would have been the end of most jockeys in their 40s, plenty of time for trainers and owners to find a younger alternative. For Dettori, though, suspension in December 2012 was a bridge to a renewed association with John Gosden in Newmarket, and a new series of champions and Classic winners, including Enable, Golden Horn and Stradivarius.

Public Highs and Lows

The public highs and lows have been a crucial element of his narrative, up to and including the humiliating admission in March that he filed for bankruptcy following a long-standing disagreement with HMRC regarding unpaid taxes, a situation that Dettori tried, and did not succeed, to keep private.

There have been numerous turns in his story, indeed, that it's easy to overlook that absent Dettori’s immense, generational talent, there would be no narrative whatsoever.

Early Talent and Instincts

It was evident from the start as a young apprentice that there was a natural connection between horse and rider when Dettori was in the saddle.

Steeds performed for him, and improved for him. Back in 1990, he became the first teen since Lester Piggott to reach 100 winners in one season, and also marked his arrival at the highest level with two Group One wins at Ascot, on the same day that he would charge without a loss only six years later. The famous flying dismount, adopted from the US legend Angel Cordero Jr, was incorporated into Dettori’s repertoire in 1994, and the buzz from winning major races has never left him. Neither has the talent of sensing, with something akin to foresight, where to sit, when to make a move and where openings will emerge.

The Future Ahead

But what now for the recognizable figure of British racing? It won't be simple to step away completely, whether or not Dettori fulfils his apparent desire to accept some mounts in South America, which is something I’ve always wanted to do”. This is not, in fact, a goal that he had mentioned previously.

But the calamitous decision to accept the tax advice that led to his tax issues indicates that Dettori will not end his career with enough money saved up to kick back and take things easy.

Fresh Ventures

He has already been appointed to a new position as an international ambassador with the soccer agent Kia Joorabchian’s burgeoning Amo Racing operation. Dettori told racing presenter Matt Chapman on Friday this was the primary reason for his departure now, as well as being able to finish at the Breeders’ Cup. “Such chances don’t come along, frequently. I like the set-up – it's a youthful team with huge goals,” said the rider.

Joorabchian, himself, was gushing in his praise for his new ambassador at Del Mar on Thursday. “He’s an icon, he is a true legend in the sport,” Joorabchian said. “When you talk about elite athletes such as LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Lionel Messi and Pelé and people like that, Frankie represents that to horse racing. When visiting Royal Ascot, you see a statue there, you know 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 actually work and he will working with us closely. He will be involved in all aspects of our operations though he won't serve as a racing manager. He is an international ambassador.”

Reality TV are another option, though previous appearances on Big Brother and I’m A Celebrity … have tended to reveal a moodier side of his personality, behind the ebullient public persona. In both programs, he was an early casualty due to viewer votes.

It's possible that Dettori personally does not really know what he will do and how to spend his time after his race-riding days ends. And for another 24 hours at least, he stays a top-level professional jockey, concentrating on three mounts at one of the most prestigious and glamorous events on the schedule.

The Final Ride

A five-year-old filly named Argine will be his last top-level ride in the Breeders’ Cup Mile, the same race in which he registered his initial Breeders’ Cup win back in 1994. Her form at home indicates that she needs to find to figure, yet few jockeys in history have ever risen to an occasion like Lanfranco Dettori.

For one final time, is it time for Frankie?