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The journey has been a thrilling, glorious and sometimes bumpy ride, but this time, it seems Frankie Dettori's decision is final. The most celebrated jockey of the past four decades will effectively enter retirement after the main card during the Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar on Saturday, when he will have three opportunities to add a farewell Grade One winner to nearly 300 on his record already. The sport might not witness a career like his ever again.

A Household Name

Alongside racing great Lester Piggott and maybe John McCririck over the past half-century, Frankie Dettori registers with pretty much everyone, without needing a last name. People know who he is, even if they possess no interest at all in what he does. In a world that has been divided by social media and the internet, Dettori could be the last racing figure who will ever enjoy such instant brand recognition among a wide segment of Britain's people.

Dettori’s lifetime in the sport, in fact, goes back to an era when the show A Question Of Sport often attracted over 10 million audience members, and a three-year stint as a team leader was sufficient to cement him as the lively, irrepressible face of the sport. His final year on the program came in 2004, that was also the time when he won the Flat jockeys’ title for a third and last occasion. As far as many in the UK, however, he has probably been the top jockey for many seasons after that.

A Hard-Won Celebrity

It is, in many respects, a hard-won celebrity, a double-edged reward for events on and off the track which have often pushed Dettori into the headlines, ever since the unforgettable afternoon at Ascot in 1996 when he overcame odds of 25,000-1 to win all seven races that day.

In June 2000, he was rescued from a fiery crash of a small plane 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 also became front-page news.

And if everyone loves a winner, they often love an imperfect hero and a comeback all the more. A half-year suspension after a failed drug test for cocaine would have been the finish for many riders in their forties, more than enough time for owners and trainers to find a younger alternative. For Dettori, however, his 2012 suspension was a bridge to a revived partnership with trainer John Gosden at Newmarket, and a fresh succession of champions and Classic winners, including Enable, Golden Horn and Stradivarius.

Public Highs and Lows

The public highs and lows have been an essential part of Dettori’s story, right up until the embarrassing confession this past March that he was filing for bankruptcy after a prolonged dispute with tax authorities regarding unpaid taxes, a circumstance that Dettori tried, and failed, to keep private.

There were numerous turns in his story, in fact, that it's easy to overlook that absent his tremendous, once-in-a-generation skill, there would be no narrative whatsoever.

Natural Ability

It was clear from his earliest days as a teenage apprentice that he had an instinctive rapport with the horses when Dettori was in the saddle.

Horses ran for him, and got better under him. In 1990, he was the first teenager since Lester Piggott to achieve 100 wins in a season, and also announced his emergence among the elite with two Group One wins at Ascot, on the same day that he would dominate through unbeaten only six years later. The famous flying dismount, copied from the US 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 almost clairvoyance, 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 won't be simple to step away completely, regardless if Dettori fulfils his apparent desire to accept some mounts in South America, something that he always wanted to do”. It is not, after all, an ambition that he had mentioned until now.

However, the disastrous choice to follow tax guidance that led to his dispute with HMRC means that Dettori will not draw down the curtain with enough money saved up 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 growing Amo Racing enterprise. Dettori told racing presenter Matt Chapman last Friday this was the main reason for his departure now, along with the chance to conclude at the Breeders’ Cup. “Such chances don’t come along, frequently. I like the set-up – this is a young team with big ambitions,” said the rider.

Joorabchian personally, was effusive in his compliments for his new recruit at Del Mar on Thursday. “He is an icon, a genuine legend in the sport,” Joorabchian said. “When discussing great sportsmen such as LeBron James, Currys, Messis and Pelé and people like that, Frankie is that to horse racing. When visiting Royal Ascot, you see a statue there, you realize that he has influenced countless lives worldwide.

“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 be involved in all aspects of our business though he won't serve as a racing manager. He is a global ambassador.”

Television reality shows are another option, though previous appearances on Celebrity Big Brother and I'm A Celebrity have tended to reveal a more somber aspect of his personality, behind the ebullient public persona. In both programs, he was an early exit of the public vote.

It may be that Dettori personally is unsure what he will do and how to spend his time after his race-riding days ends. And for at least one more day, he remains a top-level professional jockey, focused on three mounts at one of the globe's prestigious and dazzling events in the calendar.

The Final Ride

A five-year-old mare named 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 back in 1994. Her form at home indicates that she needs to improve to compete, but few riders historically have risen to an occasion like Frankie Dettori.

One last time, is it time for Frankie?