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The journey has been an exhilarating, magnificent and sometimes rocky path, yet now, it appears Frankie Dettori's decision is final. The most celebrated jockey over the last 40 years will effectively enter retirement following the primary events during the Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar this Saturday, when he will have three opportunities to add a farewell Grade One winner to nearly 300 on his record already. Racing may not witness a career quite like it again.

An Iconic Figure

Together with racing great Lester Piggott and maybe John McCririck in the last half-century, Frankie Dettori registers with almost everybody, without needing a last name. People know his identity, even if they have absolutely no interest in what he does. In a world that has been fragmented by social media and the internet, Dettori could be the final equestrian personality who will ever enjoy such instant name-recognition among a wide segment of Britain's people.

Dettori’s lifetime in the sport, in fact, goes back to a time when A Question Of Sport regularly pulled in over 10 million audience members, and his three-year role as a team captain was more than enough to establish him as the bubbly, irrepressible face of the sport. His last year on the show was 2004, that was also the time when he secured the Flat jockeys’ title for a third and final time. As far as much of the British public, though, he has likely been the champion in most years after that.

A Hard-Won Celebrity

This is, in many respects, a hard-earned fame, a double-edged reward for events on and off the track that have repeatedly pushed Dettori into the headlines, since that memorable day at Ascot in 1996 when he defied odds of 25,000-1 to win all seven races on the card.

In June 2000, he was pulled from the burning wreckage of a light aircraft by fellow jockey, Ray Cochrane, after a crash on takeoff where the pilot was killed. When at last concluded his pursuit for a Derby winner in 2007, that also became headline news.

And if everyone loves a champion, they frequently adore a flawed hero and a return even more. A half-year suspension following a positive drug test for cocaine could have been the end of many riders in their 40s, plenty of time for trainers and owners to find a younger alternative. For Dettori, however, his 2012 suspension served as a bridge to a renewed association with John Gosden in Newmarket, and a fresh succession of winners and Classic winners, including Enable, Golden Horn and Stradivarius.

Ups and Downs

The public highs and setbacks have been a crucial element of his narrative, right up until the humiliating admission this past March that he filed for bankruptcy following a long-standing disagreement with tax authorities regarding unpaid taxes, a circumstance that Dettori tried, and failed, to keep private.

There have been numerous turns in his story, in fact, that it's easy to overlook that without his tremendous, generational talent, there would be no narrative whatsoever.

Natural Ability

It was clear from the start as a young apprentice that he had an instinctive rapport between horse and rider whenever Dettori was on board.

Horses ran for him, and improved for him. In 1990, he became the first teen since Lester Piggott to reach 100 winners in a season, and also announced his emergence at the highest level with two Group One wins at Ascot, on the same day that he would dominate without a loss only six years later. His iconic flying dismount, copied from the American legend Angel Cordero Jr, was added to his routine in 1994, and the thrill from winning major races has always stayed with him. Nor has the gift of knowing, with something akin to clairvoyance, where to sit, when to make a move and where the gaps will appear.

What Comes Next?

But what next for the public face of UK horse racing? It won't be simple to step away completely, whether or not Dettori pursues his expressed wish to take “a few rides in South America, something that he always wanted to experience”. It is not, in fact, a goal that he has mentioned previously.

However, the disastrous choice to accept the tax advice that resulted in his dispute with HMRC indicates that he will not draw down the curtain with sufficient funds in the bank to kick back and take it easy.

Fresh Ventures

He has already 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 departure now, along with the chance to conclude at the Breeders’ Cup. “These opportunities don’t come along, very often. I appreciate the structure – this is a young team with huge goals,” explained the jockey.

Joorabchian, himself, was gushing in his praise for his new recruit on Thursday at Del Mar. “He is an icon, a genuine legend in the sport,” Joorabchian said. “When discussing elite athletes like LeBron James, Currys, Messis and Pelés and people like that, Frankie represents that to horse racing. When visiting Royal Ascot, you notice a statue, you realize that he’s made a big impact countless lives across the world.

“He’s not here|“He isn't here} to amuse audiences, he's here to work and he will collaborate with us very closely. He will participate in all aspects of our business [but] he won’t be a racing manager. He is a global ambassador.”

Television reality shows are another option, although earlier outings on Big Brother and I’m A Celebrity … often showed a more somber aspect to Dettori’s character, beneath the cheerful public image. In both programs, he was an early casualty due to viewer votes.

It's possible that Dettori personally does not really know what he'll do and how he will fill his time once his riding career ends. And for another 24 hours at least, he remains an elite professional jockey, focused on three mounts at one of the globe's prestigious and glamorous events on the schedule.

One Last Mount

A five-year-old mare named Argine will be Dettori’s final Grade One mount in the Breeders’ Cup Mile, the same race where he achieved his initial Breeders’ Cup win in 1994. Her performance in Japan indicates that she needs to find to figure, but few riders in history have ever excelled in big moments like Lanfranco Dettori.

For one final time, cue Frankie?