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The journey has been an exhilarating, glorious and sometimes rocky path, yet now, it appears Frankie Dettori's mind is made up. The most celebrated jockey over the last 40 years is set to head into retirement after the main card at the Breeders’ Cup in Del Mar on Saturday, when he will have three opportunities to secure one last top-tier victory to nearly 300 on his record already. The sport might not see a career like his ever again.

A Household Name

Together with Lester Piggott and perhaps John McCririck over the past half-century, Frankie Dettori registers with pretty much everyone, without needing a last name. The public knows who he is, even if they have no interest at all in what he does. In a world that has been fragmented by digital platforms and the internet, Dettori could be the last racing figure who will ever enjoy such instant name-recognition across a broad swathe of the British population.

Dettori’s lifetime in the sport, in fact, dates back to a time when the show A Question Of Sport often attracted over 10 million viewers, and his three-year role as a team captain was sufficient to cement him as the lively, irrepressible face of racing. His last year on the show was 2004, that was also the time when he won the top jockey award for a third and final time. As far as many in the UK, however, he has likely been the champion in most years after that.

A Hard-Won Celebrity

It is, in many respects, a hard-earned fame, a mixed blessing for incidents both on and off the track which have often pushed Dettori onto the front pages, ever since the unforgettable afternoon 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 light aircraft by fellow jockey, Ray Cochrane, after a crash during takeoff where the pilot was killed. When at last concluded his pursuit for a Derby victory in 2007, that too was front-page news.

And if everyone loves a winner, they frequently adore a flawed hero and a comeback all the more. A half-year suspension following a positive drug test for cocaine could have been the finish for most jockeys in their 40s, more than enough time for owners and trainers to seek a younger replacement. For Dettori, however, his 2012 suspension served as a bridge to a renewed association 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 a crucial element of Dettori’s story, right up until the humiliating admission this past March that he filed for bankruptcy following a long-standing disagreement with tax authorities regarding unpaid taxes, a circumstance that he attempted, and failed, to keep confidential.

There have been so many twists in his story, in fact, that it's easy to overlook that absent Dettori’s immense, generational talent, there would be no story at all.

Early Talent and Instincts

It was evident from the start as a teenage apprentice that he had a natural connection between horse and rider whenever Dettori was on board.

Steeds performed for him, and got better under him. In 1990, he became the first teen since Piggott to reach 100 winners in one season, and also marked his arrival among the elite with a Group One double at Ascot, on the same day that he would charge through unbeaten just six years later. The famous flying dismount, copied 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 always stayed with him. Nor has the gift of sensing, with almost foresight, where to sit, when to strike and where the gaps will appear.

The Future Ahead

But what now for the public face of UK horse racing? It won't be simple to finally let go, whether or not Dettori fulfils his apparent desire to accept some mounts in South America, which is something he always wanted to do”. This is not, in fact, a goal that he has mentioned until now.

But the calamitous decision to follow tax guidance that resulted in his tax issues means that he will not end his career with sufficient funds in the bank to relax and take things easy.

Fresh Ventures

He has already been confirmed in a new role as an international ambassador with the football super-agent Kia Joorabchian’s burgeoning Amo Racing enterprise. He explained to Matt Chapman on At The Races last Friday this was the main reason for his departure now, as well as being able to finish at the Breeders’ Cup. “These opportunities don’t come along, very often. I appreciate the structure – this is a young team with huge goals,” said the rider.

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 such as LeBron James, Currys, Lionel Messi and Pelés and similar figures, Frankie represents that to horse racing. When you go into Royal Ascot, you see a statue there, you know that he’s made a big impact 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 collaborate with us closely. He will be involved in all aspects 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 Celebrity Big Brother and I'm A Celebrity have tended to reveal a moodier side of his personality, behind the ebullient public image. On both shows, he was an early casualty of the public vote.

It may be that Dettori himself does not really know what he will do and how to spend his time once his race-riding days ends. And for another 24 hours at least, he stays an elite professional jockey, concentrating on three mounts at one of the most prestigious and glamorous events in the calendar.

The Final Ride

A five-year-old mare called Argine will be his final Grade One mount in the Breeders’ Cup Mile, the identical event in which he registered his first Breeders’ Cup success in 1994. Her form at home in Japan suggests that she needs to improve to compete, but few riders historically have excelled in big moments like Frankie Dettori.

One last time, is it time for Frankie?