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It has been an exhilarating, magnificent and sometimes bumpy ride, yet now, it seems Frankie Dettori's decision is final. The most celebrated rider of the past 40 years 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 top-tier victory to nearly 300 already in his record. The sport might not witness a career like his ever again.

A Household Name

Alongside Lester Piggott and perhaps John McCririck over the past 50 years, Frankie Dettori registers with almost everybody, without needing a last name. The public knows his identity, even if they possess no interest at all in his profession. In today's world that has been fragmented by social media and the internet, Dettori could be the last racing figure who will ever experience such immediate name-recognition across a broad swathe of the British population.

His entire career in the sport, after all, dates back to an era when the show A Question Of Sport often attracted over 10 million audience members, and his three-year role as a team leader was sufficient to cement him as the bubbly, unforgettable figure of racing. His final year on the program came in 2004, which was also the year when he secured the Flat jockeys’ title for the third and final time. For 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 double-edged reward for incidents both on and off the track which have often propelled Dettori into the headlines, ever since that memorable day at Ascot in 1996 when he defied massive 25,000-1 odds to ride all seven winners that day.

In June 2000, he was pulled from the burning wreckage of a small plane by his fellow rider, Ray Cochrane, following an accident on takeoff where the pilot lost his life. When at last ended his quest for a Derby victory in 2007, that also became headline news.

While everyone admires a champion, they frequently adore a flawed hero and a return all the more. A half-year suspension after a failed drug test for cocaine would have been the end of most jockeys in their 40s, more than enough time for trainers and owners to seek a younger replacement. For Dettori, though, his 2012 suspension was a bridge to a renewed association with trainer John Gosden in Newmarket, and a fresh succession of champions and Classic winners, including Enable, Golden Horn and Stradivarius.

Ups and Downs

The celebrated successes and lows were a crucial element of his narrative, right up until the humiliating admission in March that he filed for bankruptcy after a prolonged dispute with tax authorities over unpaid taxes, a circumstance that he attempted, and did not succeed, to keep private.

There have been numerous turns to the tale, indeed, that it's easy to overlook that absent Dettori’s immense, once-in-a-generation skill, there would be no narrative whatsoever.

Early Talent and Instincts

It was evident from his earliest days as a teenage apprentice that he had an instinctive rapport between horse and rider when Dettori was in the saddle.

Horses ran for him, and got better under him. Back in 1990, he became the first teen since Lester Piggott to achieve 100 wins in one season, and also announced his emergence at the highest level with a Group One double at Ascot, on the same day that he would dominate without a loss only six years later. His iconic flying dismount, copied from the American legend Angel Cordero Jr, was incorporated into Dettori’s repertoire in 1994, and the thrill from riding a big-race winner has never left him. Neither has the talent of knowing, with almost foresight, where to sit, when to strike and where openings will emerge.

The Future Ahead

But what next for the recognizable figure of UK horse racing? It will not be easy to finally let go, whether or not Dettori fulfils his apparent desire to take “a few rides in South America, something that I’ve always wanted to do”. This is not, after all, an ambition that he had mentioned previously.

However, the disastrous choice to accept the tax advice that resulted in his tax issues means that he will not draw down the curtain with sufficient funds saved up to relax and take it easy.

Fresh Ventures

He has already been appointed to a new position as a “global ambassador” with the soccer agent Kia Joorabchian’s growing Amo Racing operation. He explained to racing presenter Matt Chapman on Friday this was the primary reason for his exit now, as well as being able to conclude at the Breeders’ Cup. “Such chances are rare, frequently. I appreciate the structure – this is a young team with huge goals,” explained the jockey.

Joorabchian personally, was effusive in his compliments for his new ambassador at Del Mar on Thursday. “He’s an icon, he is a true legend of the sport,” Joorabchian said. “When you talk about elite athletes like LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Messis and Pelés and people like that, Frankie represents that to horse racing. When you go into Royal Ascot, you see a statue there, you know 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 actually work and he will working with us very closely. He will participate in all aspects of our business [but] he won’t be a racing manager. He is an international ambassador.”

Television reality shows are another option, though previous appearances on Celebrity Big Brother and I'm A Celebrity often showed a moodier side of his personality, behind the ebullient public image. On both shows, he was an early exit of the public vote.

It may be that Dettori personally does not really know what he'll do and how to spend his time after his race-riding days ends. And for another one more day, he remains a top-level professional jockey, concentrating on three mounts at one of the most prestigious and dazzling events in the calendar.

One Last Mount

A five-year-old mare called Argine will be Dettori’s last top-level ride in the Breeders’ Cup Mile, the same race where he achieved his initial Breeders’ Cup win in 1994. Her performance in Japan indicates that she needs to find to figure, yet few jockeys historically have excelled in big moments like Lanfranco Dettori.

For one final time, is it time for Frankie?