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The journey has been a thrilling, magnificent and sometimes rocky path, but this time, it appears the famed jockey's mind is made up. The most celebrated 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 opportunities to add a farewell Grade One winner to nearly 300 already in his record. The sport might not witness a career like his ever again.

A Household Name

Together with racing great Lester Piggott and perhaps John McCririck in the last half-century, “Frankie” is recognized by almost everybody, without needing a last name. The public knows who he is, even if they possess no interest at all in what he does. In today's world which has become fragmented by social media and the internet, Dettori may well be the last racing figure who will ever enjoy such instant name-recognition across a broad swathe of the British population.

His entire career in the sport, after all, goes back to an era when A Question Of Sport regularly pulled in over 10 million audience members, and a three-year stint as a team captain was more than enough to cement him as the bubbly, unforgettable figure of the sport. His last year on the show came in 2004, that was also the time when he won the Flat jockeys’ title for a third and final time. For much of the British public, though, he has likely been the champion in most years after that.

A Hard-Earned Fame

This is, in many respects, a hard-earned fame, a mixed blessing for events both on and off the track that have repeatedly pushed Dettori onto the front pages, ever since the unforgettable afternoon at Ascot in 1996 when he overcame massive 25,000-1 odds to win all seven races that day.

Back in June 2000, he was pulled from the burning wreckage of a light aircraft by fellow jockey, Ray Cochrane, after a crash during 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.

And if everyone loves a winner, they often love 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 forties, more than enough time for owners and trainers to find a younger alternative. For Dettori, though, his 2012 suspension was a bridge to a renewed association with trainer John Gosden at Newmarket, and a new series of winners and Classic winners, including Enable, Golden Horn and Stradivarius.

Public Highs and Lows

The celebrated successes and setbacks have been an essential part of Dettori’s story, up to and including the humiliating admission in March that he was filing for bankruptcy following a long-standing disagreement with tax authorities over unpaid taxes, a situation that Dettori tried, and did not succeed, to keep confidential.

There have been numerous turns to the tale, indeed, that it's easy to forget that absent his tremendous, generational talent, there would have been no narrative whatsoever.

Natural Ability

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 improved for him. In 1990, he became the first teen since Piggott to reach 100 winners in a season, and also announced his emergence 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, copied from the American legend Angel Cordero Jr, was incorporated into his routine in 1994, and the thrill from riding a big-race winner has never left him. Nor has the gift of sensing, with something akin to foresight, 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 will not be easy to step away completely, regardless if Dettori pursues his apparent desire to take “a few rides in South America, something that he always wanted to experience”. It is not, in fact, an ambition that he has mentioned until now.

However, the disastrous choice to follow tax guidance that resulted in his tax issues means that he will not draw down the curtain with sufficient funds in the bank to kick back and take it easy.

New Role and Opportunities

He has already been confirmed in a new role as an international ambassador with the soccer agent Kia Joorabchian's burgeoning Amo Racing operation. Dettori told Matt Chapman on At The Races last Friday this was the primary reason for his departure now, along with the chance to finish at the Breeders’ Cup. “Such chances don’t come along, very often. I appreciate the structure – it's a youthful team with big ambitions,” explained the jockey.

Joorabchian personally, was gushing in his praise for his new ambassador on Thursday at Del Mar. “He is an icon, a genuine legend in the sport,” he stated. “When you talk about great sportsmen like LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Lionel Messi and Pelé and similar figures, Frankie is that for horse racing. When visiting Royal Ascot, you notice a statue, you realize that he’s made a big impact on so many lives across the world.

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

Television reality shows are another option, although earlier outings on Celebrity Big Brother and I'm A Celebrity often showed a more somber aspect of his personality, beneath the cheerful public image. On both shows, he was an early exit of the public vote.

It's possible that Dettori personally does not really know what he will do and how he will fill his time after his race-riding days are over. And for another 24 hours at least, he remains an elite professional jockey, concentrating on three rides at one of the most prestigious and glamorous events in the calendar.

The Final Ride

A five-year-old filly named Argine will be Dettori’s 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 in Japan suggests that she has something to find to figure, but few riders historically have excelled in big moments like Frankie Dettori.

One last time, cue Frankie?