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The journey has been an exhilarating, magnificent and sometimes rocky path, but this time, it seems the famed jockey's decision is final. The most storied rider over the last four decades will effectively enter retirement after the main card at the Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar this Saturday, where he has three chances to add a farewell Grade One winner to nearly 300 on his record already. Racing may not witness a career like his ever again.

A Household Name

Alongside racing great Lester Piggott and perhaps John McCririck over the past 50 years, “Frankie” registers with almost everybody, no surname required. People know his identity, even if they possess no interest at all in his profession. In a world which has become divided by social media and online networks, Dettori may well be the last racing figure that will ever enjoy such instant brand recognition among a wide segment of Britain's people.

His entire career in horse racing, after all, dates back to a time when A Question Of Sport regularly pulled in over 10 million viewers, and his three-year role as a team leader was sufficient to cement him as the bubbly, unforgettable figure of racing. His last year on the show was 2004, that was also the time when he secured the top jockey award for a third and final time. For much of the British public, though, he has probably been the top jockey in most years after that.

A Hard-Earned Fame

It is, in many respects, a hard-won celebrity, a mixed blessing for events both on and off the racecourse that have repeatedly pushed Dettori into the headlines, ever since that memorable day at Ascot in 1996 when he defied massive 25,000-1 odds to win all seven races that day.

Back in June 2000, he was pulled from a fiery crash of a small plane by fellow jockey, Ray Cochrane, following an accident on takeoff in which the plane’s pilot lost his life. When at last ended his quest for a Derby winner in 2007, that also became front-page news.

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

Public Highs and Lows

The public highs and lows were an essential part of his narrative, up to and including the humiliating admission this past March that he filed for bankruptcy after a prolonged dispute with HMRC over unpaid taxes, a situation that Dettori tried, and did not succeed, to keep confidential.

There have been so many twists in his story, indeed, that it's easy to overlook that without his tremendous, once-in-a-generation skill, there would have been no story at all.

Early Talent and Instincts

It was clear from his earliest days as a young apprentice that there was an instinctive rapport between horse and rider whenever Dettori was on board.

Horses ran for him, and got better under him. In 1990, he was the first teenager since Lester Piggott to achieve 100 wins in one season, and also announced his arrival among the elite with two Group One wins at Ascot, on the same card that he would dominate without a loss just six years later. The famous 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. Nor has the gift of sensing, with almost 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 UK horse racing? It won't be simple to step away completely, regardless if Dettori fulfils his apparent desire to take “a few rides in South America, which is something he always wanted to experience”. It is not, in fact, a goal that he has mentioned previously.

But the calamitous decision to follow tax guidance that resulted in his dispute with HMRC means that Dettori will not end his career with sufficient funds in the bank to relax and take it easy.

Fresh Ventures

He has been confirmed in a new role as an international ambassador with the soccer agent Kia Joorabchian's growing Amo Racing enterprise. Dettori told racing presenter Matt Chapman on 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 – it's a youthful team with huge goals,” said the rider.

Joorabchian personally, was effusive in his compliments for his new recruit on Thursday at Del Mar. “He’s an icon, he is a true legend of the sport,” he stated. “When you talk about great sportsmen such as LeBron James, Currys, Lionel Messi and Pelé and people like that, Frankie represents that for horse racing. When you go into Royal Ascot, you see a statue there, you realize that he has influenced 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 collaborate with us very closely. He will be involved in every area of our operations [but] he won’t be a racing manager. He is an international ambassador.”

Television reality shows is another possibility, 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. On both shows, he was an early exit due to viewer votes.

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 ends. And for at least one more day, he remains a top-level professional jockey, concentrating on three rides at one of the most prestigious and dazzling events on the schedule.

One Last Mount

A five-year-old filly called 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 in Japan suggests that she needs to find to figure, but few riders historically have risen to an occasion like Frankie Dettori.

For one final time, cue Frankie?