Frankie Dettori lands perfect farewell with £1.3m race victory on final UK ride

21 October 2023 , 16:19

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Frankie Dettori, surrounded by his family, takes the applause at Ascot (Image: AFP via Getty Images)

Frankie Dettori left his fans craving for more after producing the perfect sign-off to his extraordinary career in Britain with victory on his final ride on Saturday.

The 52-year-old flies to Los Angeles next week to prepare for the Breeders’ Cup on November 3 and 4 and has no plans to ride again in his home of the last 37 years. He made the showpiece Qipco British Champions Day at Ascot his last day in the saddle where he had five rides.

At the track where he rode all seven winners to complete what became known as ‘Frankie’s Magnificent Seven’ in 1996, he was in irresistible form again. He won on his first and last rides securing a double on Trawlerman in the Long Distance Cup and King Of Steel in the Champion Stakes.

He produced King Of Steel, owned by Kia Joorabchian’s Amo Racing, from last to first to clinch victory in the £1.3 million race to deafening cheers from the 30,000 crowd, nearly all of whom had come to salute Dettori.

“It’s very hard to explain,” said Dettori. “I had the same surreal moment when I had my first Group 1 on Markofesteem when everything went dark.

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“I know it’s not dark, but I had that euphoria feeling when you think this can’t be right, this is not reall life, it’s perhaps some dream.

“But then I realised that it did happen and I felt numb really. I thought I would cry but I’m too happy to cry. I didn’t expect it. What a day.”

Dettori stepped away from the sport in Britain with total wins of 3,367 and a 126th success in a British Group 1. He will be hugely missed by fans who flocked to the parade ring to catch a final glimpse of the jockey, breaking into a chant of ‘O, Frankie Dettori’.

He said: “For the first race the noise was mad, This was another level. Even more than Royal Ascot when I win. It was incredible. Everybody was cheering for me.

“They souped it up to be my last race so they were all up for it. I couldn’t have wrote it better myself.

“The chanting was special, ‘O, Frankie Dettori’. That’s one thing I’m going to miss. I can’t take that to America because I am fairly new over there.

“From the beginning of the season it’s been tremendous. I wanted to finish at the top and I can’t get anymore top than this. I'm very proud of what I have done in my career and this year.”

Jon Lees