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The journey has been an exhilarating, magnificent and at times bumpy ride, yet now, it appears the famed jockey's decision is final. The most storied jockey of the past four decades will effectively head into retirement after the main card at the Breeders’ Cup in Del Mar on Saturday, where he has three chances to secure one last top-tier victory to his almost 300 already in his record. The sport might not see a career like his ever again.

A Household Name

Together with racing great Lester Piggott and maybe John McCririck over the past 50 years, Frankie Dettori registers with pretty much everyone, no surname required. The public knows his identity, even if they have no interest at all in what he does. In a world that has been fragmented by digital platforms and online networks, Dettori could be the final equestrian personality who will ever experience such immediate name-recognition across a broad swathe of the British population.

Dettori’s lifetime in horse racing, after all, dates back to an era when A Question Of Sport regularly pulled in over 10 million viewers, and a three-year stint as a team captain was more than enough to cement him as the lively, irrepressible face of the sport. His last year on the show was 2004, that was also the year when he won the Flat jockeys’ title for the third and final time. As far as many in the UK, however, he has likely been the top jockey in most years since.

A Hard-Earned Fame

This is, in many respects, a hard-won celebrity, a double-edged reward for incidents on and off the racecourse that have repeatedly propelled Dettori into the headlines, 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 pulled from a fiery crash of a light aircraft by his fellow rider, Ray Cochrane, following an accident during takeoff where the pilot lost his life. When he finally concluded his pursuit for a Derby winner in 2007, that also became front-page news.

While everyone admires a winner, they often love an imperfect hero and a comeback even more. A half-year suspension after a failed drug test for cocaine would have been the finish for most jockeys in their forties, more than enough time for owners and trainers to find a younger alternative. For Dettori, though, suspension in December 2012 served as a bridge to a renewed association with trainer John Gosden in Newmarket, and a new series of winners and classic victors, such as Enable, Golden Horn and Stradivarius.

Public Highs and Lows

The public highs and setbacks were an essential part of Dettori’s story, up to and including the embarrassing confession in March that he filed for bankruptcy following a long-standing disagreement with tax authorities over unpaid taxes, a situation that Dettori tried, and failed, to keep private.

There have been so many twists in his story, indeed, that it can be easy to overlook that absent Dettori’s immense, once-in-a-generation skill, there would be no story at all.

Natural Ability

It was clear from the start as a teenage apprentice that he had a natural connection with the horses when Dettori was in the saddle.

Horses ran for him, and improved for him. In 1990, he became the first teen since Lester Piggott to reach 100 winners in a season, and also marked his arrival among the elite with two Group One wins at Ascot, on the same day that he would charge without a loss only six years later. His iconic flying dismount, copied from the US legend Angel Cordero Jr, was added to his routine 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 position, when to strike 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 pursues his apparent desire to take “a few rides in South America, something that I’ve always wanted to experience”. It is not, in fact, a goal that he has mentioned previously.

However, the disastrous choice to accept the tax advice that led to his dispute with HMRC indicates that Dettori will not draw down the curtain with enough money saved up to relax and take things easy.

New Role and Opportunities

He has already been appointed to a new position as an international ambassador with the football super-agent Kia Joorabchian's burgeoning Amo Racing operation. He explained to racing presenter Matt Chapman on Friday this was the primary reason for his departure now, as well as being able to conclude at the Breeders’ Cup. “These opportunities don’t come along, frequently. I appreciate the structure – this is a young team with big ambitions,” explained the jockey.

Joorabchian personally, was gushing in his praise for his new ambassador at Del Mar on Thursday. “He is an icon, a genuine legend in the sport,” Joorabchian said. “When discussing great sportsmen like LeBron James, Currys, Messis and Pelés and similar figures, Frankie represents that for horse racing. When you go into Royal Ascot, you notice a statue, you know that he’s made a big impact countless lives across the world.

“He’s not here|“He isn't here} to amuse audiences, he’s here to actually work and he will collaborate with us very closely. He will be involved in every area of our operations though he won't serve as 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 … often showed a more somber aspect to Dettori’s character, behind the ebullient public image. In both programs, he was an early exit due to viewer votes.

It's possible that Dettori personally is unsure what he will do and how to spend his time after his riding career are over. And for another one more day, he remains a top-level professional jockey, concentrating on three mounts at one of the globe's 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 first Breeders’ Cup success back in 1994. Her performance in Japan in Japan suggests that she needs to improve to compete, but few riders in history have ever excelled in big moments like Lanfranco Dettori.

One last time, cue Frankie?