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It has been a thrilling, magnificent and at times bumpy ride, yet now, it seems Frankie Dettori's decision is final. The most celebrated rider over the last four decades is set to head into retirement after the main card at the Breeders’ Cup in Del Mar this Saturday, where he has three chances to add a farewell Grade One winner to nearly 300 on his record already. The sport might not see a career quite like it again.

An Iconic Figure

Together with Lester Piggott and maybe John McCririck over the past half-century, “Frankie” registers with almost everybody, no surname required. The public knows his identity, even if they possess no interest at all in his profession. In today's world that has been divided by social media and online networks, Dettori may well be the last racing figure who will ever experience such immediate name-recognition among a wide segment 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 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 racing. His final year on the program was 2004, that was also the year when he won the Flat jockeys’ title for the third and final time. For many in the UK, though, he has likely been the top jockey in most years after that.

A Hard-Earned Fame

This is, in many ways, a hard-won celebrity, a mixed blessing for events both on and off the racecourse that have repeatedly pushed Dettori onto the front pages, ever since that memorable day 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 pulled from a fiery crash of a light aircraft by fellow jockey, Ray Cochrane, after a crash on takeoff where the pilot lost his life. When at last ended his quest for a Derby victory in 2007, that also became front-page news.

And if everyone loves a champion, they frequently adore an imperfect hero and a return even more. A six-month ban after a failed drug test for cocaine could have been the end of many riders in their 40s, more than enough time for trainers and owners to seek a younger replacement. For Dettori, though, his 2012 suspension served as a bridge to a revived partnership with John Gosden in Newmarket, and a new series of champions and classic victors, including Enable, Golden Horn and Stradivarius.

Public Highs and Lows

The public highs and lows have been a crucial element of Dettori’s story, right up until the humiliating admission in March that he filed for bankruptcy after a prolonged dispute with tax authorities over unpaid taxes, a situation that Dettori tried, and did not succeed, to keep private.

There have been numerous turns to the tale, indeed, that it can be easy to overlook that without his tremendous, generational talent, there would have been no narrative whatsoever.

Natural Ability

It was evident from the start as a teenage apprentice that he had an instinctive rapport 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 achieve 100 wins in one season, and also marked his emergence at the highest level with a Group One double at Ascot, on the same day that he would charge without a loss only six years later. His iconic flying dismount, adopted from the American legend Angel Cordero Jr, was added to his routine in 1994, and the buzz from riding a big-race winner has never left him. Neither has the talent of sensing, with almost clairvoyance, where to sit, when to strike and where openings will emerge.

The Future Ahead

But what now for the recognizable figure of UK horse racing? It won't be simple to step away completely, whether or not Dettori fulfils his expressed wish to take “a few rides in South America, something that I’ve always wanted to do”. It is not, after all, a goal that he had mentioned until now.

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

Fresh Ventures

He has been appointed to a new position as an international ambassador with the soccer agent Kia Joorabchian’s burgeoning Amo Racing operation. Dettori told Matt Chapman on At The Races on Friday this was the primary reason for his exit now, as well as being able to finish at the Breeders’ Cup. “These opportunities are rare, very often. I like the set-up – this is a young team with huge goals,” said the rider.

Joorabchian personally, 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 elite athletes like LeBron James, Currys, Messis and Pelés and people like that, Frankie represents that for horse racing. When you go into Royal Ascot, you notice a statue, you know that he’s made a big impact countless lives across the world.

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

Television reality shows is another possibility, although earlier outings on Celebrity Big Brother and I’m A Celebrity … have tended to reveal a more somber aspect to Dettori’s character, behind the ebullient public image. In both programs, he was an early exit due to viewer votes.

It may be that Dettori personally does not really know what he'll do and how he will fill his time once his riding career ends. And for another one more day, he stays an elite professional jockey, concentrating on three rides at one of the globe's prestigious and glamorous events in the calendar.

One Last Mount

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

One last time, is it time for Frankie?