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The journey has been an exhilarating, glorious and sometimes bumpy ride, but this time, it appears the famed jockey's decision is final. The most storied jockey of the past 40 years will effectively head into retirement after the main card at the Breeders’ Cup in Del Mar on Saturday, when he will have three chances to add a farewell top-tier victory to his almost 300 already in his record. Racing may not witness a career like his ever again.

A Household Name

Together with racing great Lester Piggott and maybe John McCririck in the last half-century, “Frankie” registers with pretty much everyone, no surname required. People know his identity, even if they possess no interest at all in what he does. In a world that has been divided by digital platforms and online networks, Dettori could be the last racing figure that will ever experience such immediate name-recognition among a wide segment of the British population.

Dettori’s lifetime in the sport, after all, goes back to an era when the show A Question Of Sport often attracted over 10 million viewers, and a three-year stint as a team captain was sufficient to establish him as the lively, irrepressible face of the sport. His last year on the show came in 2004, which was also the time when he secured the top jockey award for the third and final time. For many in the UK, however, he has likely been the champion for many seasons after that.

A Hard-Won Celebrity

It is, in many respects, a hard-earned fame, a mixed blessing for events on and off the track which have often pushed Dettori onto the front pages, ever since that memorable day at Ascot in 1996 when he overcame odds of 25,000-1 to ride all seven winners on the card.

In June 2000, he was pulled from a fiery crash of a small plane by fellow jockey, Ray Cochrane, following an accident during takeoff in which the plane’s pilot lost his life. When at last concluded his pursuit for a Derby winner in 2007, that too was front-page news.

And if everyone loves a champion, they frequently adore an imperfect hero and a return all the more. A six-month ban following a positive drug test for cocaine could have been the finish for many riders in their forties, more than enough time for owners and trainers to find a younger alternative. For Dettori, however, his 2012 suspension was a bridge to a revived partnership with John Gosden in Newmarket, and a new series of champions and Classic winners, including 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 in March that he was filing for bankruptcy following a long-standing disagreement with tax authorities over unpaid taxes, a circumstance that he attempted, and failed, to keep confidential.

There have been numerous turns to the tale, indeed, that it's easy to forget that absent his tremendous, once-in-a-generation skill, there would be no narrative whatsoever.

Early Talent and Instincts

It was clear from his earliest days as a teenage apprentice that there was a natural connection between horse and rider when Dettori was in the saddle.

Horses ran for him, and got better under him. In 1990, he became the first teen since Lester Piggott to reach 100 winners in one season, and also marked his emergence at the highest level with two Group One wins at Ascot, on the same card that he would charge through unbeaten just six years later. The famous flying dismount, copied from the US legend Angel Cordero Jr, was added to Dettori’s repertoire in 1994, and the thrill from riding a big-race winner has always stayed with him. Neither has the talent of knowing, with something akin to clairvoyance, where to sit, when to make a move and where the gaps will emerge.

The Future Ahead

But what next for the public face of UK horse racing? It won't be simple to step away completely, regardless if Dettori fulfils his apparent desire to accept some mounts in South America, something that he always wanted to do”. This is not, in fact, an ambition that he has mentioned until now.

But the calamitous decision to follow tax guidance that led to his dispute with HMRC means that Dettori will not draw down the curtain with enough money saved up to kick back and take it easy.

New Role and Opportunities

He has been appointed to a new position as a “global ambassador” with the soccer agent Kia Joorabchian's burgeoning Amo Racing operation. He explained to Matt Chapman on At The Races on Friday this was the main reason for his exit now, as well as being able to finish at the Breeders’ Cup. “Such chances are rare, frequently. I appreciate the structure – it's a youthful team with huge goals,” explained the jockey.

Joorabchian personally, was effusive in his compliments for his new ambassador on Thursday at Del Mar. “He is an icon, a genuine legend of the sport,” Joorabchian said. “When discussing great sportsmen like LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Lionel Messi and Pelés and people like that, Frankie represents that for horse racing. When you go into Royal Ascot, you notice a statue, you realize that he has influenced on so many lives worldwide.

“He’s not here|“He isn't here} to entertain people, he's here to work and he will working with us closely. He will participate in every area of our business [but] he won’t be a racing manager. He is an international ambassador.”

Reality TV is another possibility, though previous appearances on Big Brother and I'm A Celebrity often showed a more somber aspect to Dettori’s character, behind the ebullient public image. In both programs, he was an early exit due to viewer votes.

It's possible that Dettori personally does not really know what he will do and how to spend his time once his riding career ends. And for at least one more day, he stays a top-level professional jockey, concentrating on three mounts at one of the most prestigious and glamorous events in the calendar.

One Last Mount

A five-year-old filly named Argine will be his final Grade One mount in the Breeders’ Cup Mile, the same race in which he registered his first Breeders’ Cup success back in 1994. Her form at home indicates that she needs to find to figure, yet few jockeys in history have ever risen to an occasion like Lanfranco Dettori.

For one final time, is it time for Frankie?