12 October 2023 , 07:44
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Frankie Dettori has performed a bombshell retirement u-turn by announcing he will ride on - in the United Stakes,
The 52-year-old superstar of the saddle had declared 2023 would be his final year as a jockey.
He was supposed to bring down the curtain on an extraordinary 35-year career during which he has become the most recognisable figure in his sport.
Plans are in place to farewell Dettori at a glittering public celebration during Qipco British Champions Day at Ascot on October 21, when he is due to ride in his adopted country for the final time.
He has also committed to riding at the Breeders Cup in the US and Melbourne Cup Spring Carnival in Australia next month plus Hong Kong in December.
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But after a year in which he has continually proved he is still at the top of his game he admitted to a change of heart and declared he won’t be hanging up his boots at the end of the year after all.
Instead he will forge on as a full-time jockey from a new base in California, where his 12-month farewell tour began at Santa Anita on December 26 last year.
He and wife Catherine, who moved out of the family home in Newmarket earlier this year, will be relocating.to Los Angeles..
Frankie Dettori: will ride for the final time in Britain at Ascot on Qipco British Champions Day (PA)Dettori announced his decision in Britain to BBC Breakfast and the Nick Luck Daily podcast.
He told Luck: “I had second thoughts. I want to carry on a little bit longer in California where I had such a lovely winter.
“The dynamic of my year has changed so much. If I wasn’t riding any winners or not riding in the big races it would have made my decision much easier.
“At this point I am still feeling good and I’ve got to get it out of my system. It’s very painful to just let go. That’s the reason I am retiring from Europe but I am continuing for a little bit longer in the USA.
“It could be three months or three years but I am going to give it a good go on the USA circuit and the international circuit, Dubai and Saudi Arabia when they come along, and the dream is to find a horse for the Kentucky Derby.”
Dettori, who has been champion jockey three times, has ridden 3,365 winners in Britain since arriving in the country as a teenager.
Among many notable feats he went through the card when he completed what became known as ‘Frankie’s Magnificent Seven’ winners on the card at Ascot in September 1996.
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He has won Europe's richest race, the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe a record six times, the Derby twice and ridden the winner of every Group 1 race in Britain at least once, apart from the July Cup, an opportunity he was denied this year to a riding suspension.
During 2023 alone he has won eight Group 1 races, including the 2,000 Guineas, Oaks, taking his British Classic haul to 23, and Gold Cup at Royal Ascot.