01 June 2023 , 12:58
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Frankie Dettori says he is “very chilled” as he prepares to ride in the Betfred Derby for the last time at Epsom on Saturday.
And the 52-year-old believes he has “a very good chance” of winning the £1.5 million Classic on his mount 6-1 chance Arrest.
Dettori, who has announced he will retire in the autumn, has won the Derby twice, on Authorized in 2007 and Golden Horn eight years later.
Arrest, trained by John and Thady Gosden for Juddmonte, won the Chester Vase in May to provide Dettori with a chance he never expected to have in this year's big race.
Dettori, who is ambassador for his final season, said: “The journey to the Derby with Arrest has been very positive - he hasn’t put a foot wrong. He’s filled into his frame and has improved with every gallop.
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“He’s been very full of himself the last few weeks and, to be honest, when I announced my retirement in December, I never thought I’d have a horse with this good a chance in the Derby.
“I was hoping to find a ride, but this guy has a very good chance of winning it, so it’s very exciting.”
He added: “It looks a very open Derby, but we tick as many boxes as any of them.”
Dettori rode Arrest in a gallop around Epsom recently which attracted comments that the colt had the action of a soft ground performer.
The jockey said: “He’s got a bit of a high knee action, everyone knows that, but that’s why we took him to Epsom for the gallops morning and he seemed to go round Tattenham Corner fine.
“The ground will be very different to Chester when it was soft, but I don’t expect Epsom to be rock hard. Andrew Cooper [Clerk of the Course] does a very good job.
“Overall, I feel pretty chilled and relaxed, which is completely the opposite to how I thought I would feel heading into my final Derby.
“I’ve got nothing to prove and I’m on a horse that I wouldn’t swap for anything else in the race. There’s nothing in there that would interest me enough to jump off Arrest.
“He’s proven, he stays and I think I come into the race with as good a chance as anything in the field.”