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It has been an exhilarating, magnificent and sometimes rocky path, but this time, it seems the famed jockey's mind is made up. The most storied rider of the past 40 years will effectively head into retirement after the main card during the Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar on Saturday, when he will have three chances to secure one last top-tier victory to his almost 300 on his record already. The sport might not see a career quite like it again.

A Household Name

Alongside racing great Lester Piggott and maybe John McCririck in the last 50 years, Frankie Dettori is recognized by pretty much everyone, without needing a last name. The public knows who he is, even if they possess absolutely no interest in what he does. In a 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, in fact, goes back to a time when A Question Of Sport often attracted more than 10 million audience members, and his three-year role as a team leader was sufficient to establish him as the bubbly, irrepressible face of the sport. His last year on the show came in 2004, which was also the time when he secured the Flat jockeys’ title for a third and last occasion. For many in the UK, however, he has probably been the champion in most years since.

A Hard-Won Celebrity

This is, in many ways, a hard-earned fame, a mixed blessing for events on and off the track which have often propelled 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 on the card.

Back in June 2000, he was rescued from a fiery crash of a small plane by fellow jockey, Ray Cochrane, following an accident on takeoff in which the plane’s pilot was killed. When he finally concluded his pursuit for a Derby victory in 2007, that also became front-page news.

While everyone admires a winner, they frequently adore an imperfect hero and a return all the 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 owners and trainers to find a younger alternative. For Dettori, however, his 2012 suspension was a bridge to a revived partnership with trainer John Gosden in Newmarket, and a new series of winners and Classic winners, including Enable, Golden Horn and Stradivarius.

Public Highs and Lows

The public highs and setbacks have been an essential part of Dettori’s story, up to and including the humiliating admission this past March that he was filing for bankruptcy after a prolonged dispute with tax authorities over unpaid taxes, a situation that Dettori tried, and failed, to keep private.

There were so many twists in his story, indeed, that it can be easy to forget that without Dettori’s immense, generational talent, there would be no story at all.

Early Talent and Instincts

It was clear from the start as a teenage apprentice that there was a natural connection between horse and rider whenever Dettori was in the saddle.

Steeds performed for him, and got better under him. Back in 1990, he became the first teen since Lester Piggott to achieve 100 wins in a season, and also announced his arrival at the highest level with a Group One double at Ascot, on the same day that he would dominate 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 riding a big-race winner has never left him. Neither has the talent of sensing, with something akin to foresight, where to position, when to strike and where openings will appear.

The Future Ahead

But what now for the public face of UK horse racing? It will not be easy to finally let go, regardless if Dettori fulfils his apparent desire to take “a few rides in South America, something that he always wanted to do”. This is not, after all, a goal that he had mentioned until now.

However, the disastrous choice to follow tax guidance that resulted in his tax issues indicates that Dettori will not end his career with enough money in the bank to relax 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 growing Amo Racing operation. He explained to racing presenter Matt Chapman last Friday this was the main reason for his exit now, as well as being able to finish at the Breeders’ Cup. “These opportunities are rare, very often. I appreciate the structure – this is a young team with big ambitions,” said the rider.

Joorabchian personally, was gushing in his praise for his new recruit at Del Mar on Thursday. “He is an icon, a genuine 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 is that to horse racing. When visiting Royal Ascot, you notice a statue, you realize that he has influenced on so many lives worldwide.

“He’s not here|“He isn't here} to amuse audiences, he’s here to actually work and he will working with us very 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 is another possibility, although earlier outings on Big Brother and I’m A Celebrity … often showed a more somber aspect of his personality, behind the ebullient public image. In both programs, he was an early exit due to viewer votes.

It's possible that Dettori himself does not really know what he will do and how he will fill his time after his race-riding days ends. And for at least one more day, he stays a top-level professional jockey, focused on three mounts at one of the globe's prestigious and glamorous events in the calendar.

One Last Mount

A five-year-old mare named Argine will be Dettori’s final Grade One mount in the Breeders’ Cup Mile, the same race in which he registered his first Breeders’ Cup success back in 1994. Her form at home in Japan suggests that she needs to find to figure, but few riders historically have excelled in big moments like Lanfranco Dettori.

For one final time, cue Frankie?