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It has been a thrilling, glorious and at times bumpy ride, yet now, it appears the famed jockey's decision is final. The most celebrated rider over the last 40 years will effectively enter retirement following the primary events at the Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar this Saturday, where he has three chances to secure one last top-tier victory to nearly 300 already in his record. Racing may not see a career quite like it again.

An Iconic Figure

Alongside racing great Lester Piggott and maybe John McCririck in the last half-century, “Frankie” is recognized by pretty much everyone, without needing a last name. People know his identity, even if they possess absolutely no interest in what he does. In today's world which has become divided by social media and the internet, Dettori may well be the last racing figure who will ever enjoy such instant brand recognition across a broad swathe of the British population.

His entire career in the sport, after all, dates back to a time when the show A Question Of Sport regularly pulled in more than 10 million viewers, and his three-year role as a team leader was sufficient to cement him as the bubbly, unforgettable figure of the sport. His final year on the program was 2004, that was also the time when he secured the Flat jockeys’ title for a third and last occasion. For many in the UK, though, he has probably been the top jockey in most years after that.

A Hard-Earned Fame

It is, in many ways, a hard-earned fame, a mixed blessing 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 odds of 25,000-1 to ride all seven winners that day.

In June 2000, he was pulled from a fiery crash of a light aircraft by his fellow rider, Ray Cochrane, following an accident on takeoff in which the plane’s pilot lost his life. When he finally ended his quest for a Derby winner in 2007, that also became headline news.

And if everyone loves a champion, they often love a flawed 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 forties, more than enough time for owners and trainers to seek a younger replacement. For Dettori, however, suspension in December 2012 served as a bridge to a revived partnership with trainer John Gosden at Newmarket, and a fresh succession of winners and classic victors, including Enable, Golden Horn and Stradivarius.

Public Highs and Lows

The celebrated successes and setbacks have been a crucial element of Dettori’s story, up to and including the embarrassing confession in March that he filed for bankruptcy following a long-standing disagreement with tax authorities over unpaid taxes, a situation that he attempted, and did not succeed, to keep private.

There have been so many twists to the tale, in fact, that it can be easy to overlook that absent his tremendous, once-in-a-generation skill, there would have been no narrative whatsoever.

Natural Ability

It was clear from his earliest days as a young apprentice that he had a natural connection with the horses whenever Dettori was in the saddle.

Horses ran for him, and improved for him. Back in 1990, he was the first teenager since Piggott to reach 100 winners in a season, and also announced 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. His iconic flying dismount, adopted from the US legend Angel Cordero Jr, was added to 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 the gaps will emerge.

The Future Ahead

But what next for the recognizable figure of UK horse racing? It will not be easy to step away completely, whether or not Dettori fulfils his apparent desire to take “a few rides in South America, which is something he always wanted to do”. This is not, after all, an ambition that he had mentioned until now.

However, the disastrous choice to accept the tax advice that resulted in his tax issues indicates that Dettori will not end his career with sufficient funds in the bank to kick back and take it easy.

New Role and Opportunities

He has been confirmed in a new role as a “global ambassador” with the football super-agent Kia Joorabchian's burgeoning Amo Racing enterprise. He explained to Matt Chapman on At The Races on Friday this was the primary reason for his departure now, along with the chance to finish at the Breeders’ Cup. “These opportunities are rare, very often. I like the set-up – it's a youthful team with big ambitions,” said the rider.

Joorabchian, himself, was gushing in his praise for his new ambassador on Thursday at Del Mar. “He’s an icon, a genuine legend of the sport,” he stated. “When you talk about elite athletes like LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Lionel Messi and Pelés and people like that, Frankie represents that for horse racing. When visiting Royal Ascot, you see a statue there, you know that he has influenced on so many 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 very closely. He will be involved in every area of our business [but] he won’t be 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 moodier side of his personality, behind the ebullient public image. In both programs, he was an early exit of the public vote.

It's possible that Dettori himself does not really know what he will do and how he will fill his time once his riding career are over. And for another one more day, he stays an elite professional jockey, focused on three mounts at one of the globe's 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 identical event in which he registered his initial Breeders’ Cup win back in 1994. Her performance in Japan indicates that she has something to find to figure, but few riders historically have risen to an occasion like Frankie Dettori.

For one final time, is it time for Frankie?