Dettori announces top-flight retirement after Breeders' Cup

Frankie Dettori will call time on his race-riding career in the Northern Hemisphere after this week's Breeders' Cup at Del Mar, the 54-year-old has announced.

In a statement on X, the three-time Champion Jockey commented: "Following the Breeders’ Cup on Saturday, I will be retiring from race-riding in the United States and concluding my career with a few rides in South America, something I’ve always wanted to do.

"It has been an honour to compete at the highest level of this sport for over four decades. I’m deeply grateful to my family, the owners, the trainers, stable staff, and of course the supporters who have made my career possible.

"From the bottom of my heart, thank you to everyone who has supported me throughout this incredible journey. Ciao, Frankie."

The news undoubtedly marks the end of an era for European and North American racing, with Dettori's success at the highest level spanning well over 30 years.

It is exactly 40 years since Dettori, then a 14-year-old, left his homeland to work for Luca Cumani in Newmarket. His first winner in Britain came two years later and, the following decade, he was appointed as the retained rider for Godolphin, which helped see him crowned Champion Jockey on two occasions, before he famously rode all seven winners on the card at Ascot in 1996 at combined odds of 25,095-1 and became a household name. 

His career was not without drama or controversy. In 2000, he survived a plane crash on take off in Newmarket, suffering only thumb damage and a broken ankle. In 2001, he was awarded an honorary MBE before, the following year, he became a team captain on the BBC quiz show A Question Of Sport, a stint that lasted for two years.

Another Champion Jockey title followed in 2004 and, three years later, he finally won the Derby on favourite Authorized at the 16th attempt. He would win the world's greatest Flat race again on Golden Horn in 2015.

The Italian's career was put on hold in 2012 after he failed a drugs test in France and was given a six-month suspension, during which time, he appeared on Celebrity Big Brother. He returned from his ban in May 2013 and rebuilt his career primarily with John Gosden, as well as with Al Shaqab Racing, for whom he became the retained rider.

After another decade of top-level success in Europe, he bowed out with two winners on his final day of riding on British Champions Day in 2023, landing the Long Distance Cup on Trawlerman and the Champion Stakes aboard King Of Steel. He then appeared on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!  before he continued his career as a jockey in California, where he enjoyed further success at the highest level. In total, he won 23 British Classics and over 280 Group One races across the globe.

His final ride in the US is set to be on Argine in the Breeders' Cup Mile at 11.05pm (GMT) on Saturday.