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The journey has been a thrilling, magnificent and at times rocky path, but this time, it seems Frankie Dettori's decision is final. The most storied jockey over the last four decades will effectively enter retirement after the main card during the Breeders’ Cup in Del Mar on Saturday, when he will have three opportunities to add a farewell top-tier victory to nearly 300 on his record already. Racing may not witness a career like his ever again.

An Iconic Figure

Alongside Lester Piggott and maybe John McCririck in the last half-century, Frankie Dettori is recognized by almost everybody, without needing a last name. The public knows who he is, even if they possess absolutely no interest in his profession. In a world which has become fragmented by social media and the internet, Dettori may well be the final equestrian personality that will ever enjoy such instant brand recognition across a broad swathe of the British population.

Dettori’s lifetime in the sport, after all, dates back to an era when the show A Question Of Sport regularly pulled in over 10 million viewers, and his three-year role as a team captain was sufficient to cement him as the bubbly, unforgettable figure of racing. His final year on the show was 2004, which was also the year when he won the Flat jockeys’ title for a third and last occasion. As far as many in the UK, though, he has likely been the champion in most years since.

A Hard-Earned Fame

This is, in many ways, a hard-won celebrity, a double-edged reward for incidents on and off the track that have repeatedly propelled Dettori onto the front pages, since that memorable day at Ascot in 1996 when he defied odds of 25,000-1 to ride all seven winners that day.

Back in June 2000, he was rescued from a fiery crash of a light aircraft by fellow jockey, Ray Cochrane, following an accident on takeoff in which the plane’s pilot was killed. When at last concluded his pursuit for a Derby winner in 2007, that too was headline news.

While everyone admires a winner, they often love an imperfect hero and a comeback even more. A half-year suspension following a positive drug test for cocaine would have been the end of many riders in their forties, plenty of time for owners and trainers to find a younger alternative. For Dettori, though, his 2012 suspension was a bridge to a revived partnership with trainer John Gosden in Newmarket, and a new series of champions 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 embarrassing confession this past March that he was filing for bankruptcy after a prolonged dispute with tax authorities over unpaid taxes, a circumstance that Dettori tried, and failed, to keep private.

There have been numerous turns in his story, in fact, that it can be easy to overlook that absent his tremendous, generational talent, there would have been no narrative whatsoever.

Natural Ability

It was clear from his earliest days as a teenage apprentice that he had a natural connection 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 Piggott to reach 100 winners in one season, and also marked his arrival at the highest level with two Group One wins at Ascot, on the same day that he would charge without a loss just six years later. The famous flying dismount, adopted from the American legend Angel Cordero Jr, was added to Dettori’s repertoire in 1994, and the thrill from winning major races has always stayed with him. Nor has the gift of knowing, with almost foresight, where to sit, when to make a move and where the gaps will appear.

What Comes Next?

But what next for the public face of British racing? It won't be simple to finally let go, regardless if Dettori fulfils his expressed wish to take “a few rides in South America, which is something I’ve always wanted to experience”. It is not, in fact, an ambition that he has mentioned previously.

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

New Role and Opportunities

He has been appointed to a new position as an international ambassador with the soccer agent Kia Joorabchian's burgeoning Amo Racing enterprise. Dettori told racing presenter Matt Chapman on Friday this was the main reason for his departure now, as well as being able to finish at the Breeders’ Cup. “Such chances are rare, very often. I appreciate the structure – this is a young team with big ambitions,” explained the jockey.

Joorabchian, himself, was gushing in his praise for his new recruit on Thursday at Del Mar. “He’s an icon, he is a true legend of the sport,” he stated. “When discussing great sportsmen such as LeBron James, Currys, Lionel Messi and Pelés and people like that, Frankie is that for horse racing. When visiting Royal Ascot, you see a statue there, you realize that he has influenced 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 participate in all aspects of our operations though he won't serve as a racing manager. He is a global 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 casualty due to viewer votes.

It may be that Dettori personally is unsure what he will do and how to spend his time after his riding career are over. And for at least 24 hours at least, he stays a top-level professional jockey, focused on three rides at one of the globe's prestigious and dazzling 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 identical event where he achieved his first Breeders’ Cup success back in 1994. Her performance in Japan in Japan suggests that she has something to improve to compete, yet few jockeys historically have excelled in big moments like Frankie Dettori.

For one final time, is it time for Frankie?