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The journey has been a thrilling, magnificent and sometimes rocky path, but this time, it appears Frankie Dettori's mind is made up. The most celebrated rider over the last 40 years is set to enter retirement after the main card at the Breeders’ Cup in Del Mar this Saturday, when he will have three chances to add a farewell Grade One winner to his almost 300 on his record already. The sport might not witness a career like his ever again.

An Iconic Figure

Together with racing great Lester Piggott and perhaps John McCririck in the last half-century, Frankie Dettori registers with almost everybody, no surname required. The public knows who he is, even if they have no interest at all in his profession. In a world that has been divided by social media and the internet, Dettori may well 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, after all, goes back to a time when A Question Of Sport often attracted more than 10 million viewers, and his three-year role as a team captain was more than enough to establish him as the lively, unforgettable figure of the sport. His last year on the program was 2004, that was also the year when he secured the top jockey award for the third and last occasion. For many in the UK, however, he has probably been the top jockey in most years since.

A Hard-Earned Fame

It is, in many ways, a hard-won celebrity, a mixed blessing for incidents both on and off the racecourse that have repeatedly pushed Dettori onto the front pages, since that memorable day at Ascot in 1996 when he defied odds of 25,000-1 to win all seven races that day.

Back in June 2000, he was rescued from a fiery crash of a small plane by his fellow rider, Ray Cochrane, after a crash during takeoff in which the plane’s pilot lost his life. When he finally concluded his pursuit for a Derby victory in 2007, that too was headline news.

While everyone admires a champion, they often love a flawed 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 40s, plenty of time for owners and trainers to seek a younger replacement. For Dettori, though, suspension in December 2012 was a bridge to a renewed association with trainer John Gosden at Newmarket, and a new series of champions and Classic winners, such as Enable, Golden Horn and Stradivarius.

Public Highs and Lows

The public highs and setbacks have been a crucial element of his narrative, up to and including the humiliating admission this past March that he filed for bankruptcy following a long-standing disagreement with tax authorities over unpaid taxes, a situation that he attempted, and failed, to keep private.

There have been so many twists in his story, indeed, that it's easy to overlook that absent his tremendous, 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 in the saddle.

Steeds performed for him, and got better under him. Back in 1990, he was the first teenager since Piggott to achieve 100 wins in a season, and also announced his emergence at the highest level with two Group One wins at Ascot, on the same day that he would charge through unbeaten just six years later. His iconic flying dismount, adopted from the US legend Angel Cordero Jr, was incorporated into his routine in 1994, and the thrill from winning major races has never left him. Nor has the gift of knowing, with something akin to foresight, where to sit, when to make a move and where openings will appear.

What Comes Next?

But what now for the public face of UK horse racing? It will not be easy to step away completely, regardless if Dettori fulfils his expressed wish to take “a few rides in South America, something that he always wanted to do”. This is not, in fact, a goal that he has mentioned previously.

However, the disastrous choice to accept the tax advice that resulted in his tax issues indicates 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 football super-agent Kia Joorabchian's growing Amo Racing operation. Dettori told Matt Chapman on At The Races last Friday this was the primary reason for his exit now, along with the chance to finish at the Breeders’ Cup. “These opportunities are rare, very often. I appreciate the structure – it's a youthful team with big ambitions,” said the rider.

Joorabchian, himself, was gushing in his praise for his new ambassador on Thursday at Del Mar. “He’s an icon, a genuine legend of the sport,” Joorabchian said. “When discussing great sportsmen like LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Lionel Messi and Pelés and similar figures, Frankie is that to horse racing. When visiting Royal Ascot, you notice a statue, you realize that he’s made a big impact countless lives worldwide.

“He’s not here|“He isn't here} to amuse audiences, he’s here to actually work and he will be 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.”

Reality TV is another possibility, although earlier outings on Celebrity Big Brother and I'm A Celebrity often showed a moodier side of his personality, beneath the cheerful public persona. In both programs, 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 he will fill his time after his riding career are over. And for another 24 hours at least, he stays an elite professional jockey, concentrating on three rides at one of the most prestigious and dazzling events on the schedule.

One Last Mount

A five-year-old mare called Argine will be his last top-level ride in the Breeders’ Cup Mile, the identical event in which he registered his initial Breeders’ Cup win back in 1994. Her form at home in Japan suggests that she needs to find to figure, yet few jockeys historically have excelled in big moments like Frankie Dettori.

For one final time, cue Frankie?