Frankie Dettori

What are Frankie Dettori’s strengths as a jockey?

Frankie Dettori is, without doubt, one of the very best of the very best jockeys the world has ever seen. In his peak years during the 1990s and 2000s, he could pace a race perfectly from the front; he could stalk and pounce; settle back, then weave through or sweep around the field; his timing was usually impeccable, and when it came to a head-bobbing battle, he had the added strength-plus-rhythm that caps a champion.

Nowadays, the energy might not be the same, though it is still impressive, and the powerful strength of his peak has diminished naturally with age. But the clock still works, and decades of elite riding has given him the added dimension of deep experience to call upon. He remains one of the best, and when he finally retires, he will be long remembered as one of the sport’s greats.   

Frankie Dettori’s Origin Story

Lanfranco ‘Frankie’ Dettori was born in Milan, Italy, the son of renowned 13-time Italian champion jockey Gianfranco Dettori. His father famously rode back-to-back winners of the 2,000 Guineas in England for trainer Henry Cecil—Bolkonski (1975) and Wollow (1976).

He moved to England at age 15 and was apprenticed to Newmarket trainer Luca Cumani. He was champion apprentice and in 1990, at age 19, he became the first teenager since the great Lester Piggott to ride more than 100 winners in a British season. He moved on to be John Gosden’s stable jockey, and in 1994, he signed as retained rider for the new Godolphin set-up, becoming synonymous with its royal blue silks.

What is Frankie Dettori’s greatest achievement?

Dettori has three British champion jockey titles to his name, and he has won a host of Group 1 races around the world, but his greatest achievement is his ‘Magnificent Seven.’

Those seven wins came on one glorious afternoon at Ascot, on September 28, 1996. Seven races, seven wins, a 25,095-1 seven-timer, and among them a brilliant Group 1 victory aboard Mark Of Esteem in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes, defeating the crack filly Bosra Sham.

Which horse is Frankie Dettori most famous for riding?

Frankie Dettori has ridden a fair few crowd favourites in his career, notably the wonderful champion stayer Stradivarius and the speed queen Lochsong. Ten years ago, the Godolphin champion Dubai Millennium would have been the standout, and he may well be again to future generations. However, that partnership was 24 years ago, so factoring in recency bias, nowadays he is most well-known for riding the two-time Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winning mare Enable. 

Who is Frankie Dettori’s greatest rival?

Frankie Dettori has ridden against jockeys from different generations spanning from the mid-twentieth century through to the present. This means singling out one main rival is not straightforward. Lester Piggott was still riding when Dettori was making his name, and at that time he faced established champions Pat Eddery, Steve Cauthen and Willie Carson; then came Mick Kinane, Johnny Murtagh and Ryan Moore.

However, during the late 1990s and into the 2000s, Dettori was synonymous with Godolphin and its worldwide exploits. At that time, Kieren Fallon emerged as a tough rival. Fallon locked horns with Dettori in big races as stable jockey to the Newmarket heavyweights Henry Cecil and Sir Michael Stoute, and then, from 2005 to early 2008, as the number one rider for Godolphin’s great rival Coolmore.

If Frankie Dettori was a sporting franchise what would it be?

Frankie Dettori would be the LA Lakers. Like the Lakers, his name is known beyond the limits of his sport thanks to his consistent success over many years. In fact, his career spans the careers of Lakers greats Magic Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant, and LeBron James. And just like the Lakers, Dettori comes with a dose of celebrity razzle-dazzle: he has even crossed into primetime TV light entertainment in Britain as a captain on the BBC quiz show A Question of Sport and was a contestant on I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here.

Did You Know?

Frankie Dettori is an Arsenal fan but his first football allegiance was to the Turin giant Juventus, even though he was born and lived in Milan as a boy.

What is Frankie Dettori’s most memorable ride?

He’s had plenty of memorable rides, but the one that has stuck long in the memory – the race that really set the spine tingling – was Dubai Millennium’s win in the ‘millennium’ G1 Dubai World Cup at Nad Al Sheba in March 2000.

Dubai Millennium surged from his wide starting gate and galloped keenly to the lead under a tight rein. As race-caller Jim McGrath noted, the colt was ‘going like the wind’ down the back straight, a length ahead of the field. “Frankie Dettori is really taking a chance here,” McGrath added as the impressive bay entered the turn, but behind him, Dettori’s rival jockeys were all pushing and pumping.

Dubai Millennium was already four lengths clear when Dettori finally shook the reins in earnest, and the four-year-old extended brilliantly to win what was then the world’s richest race by six lengths, eased down, in record time.