Given the capricious nature of the sport, there are few certainties in horse racing, but one thing can almost be guaranteed; Frankie Dettori will shed a tear when he dismounts for the last time at Royal Ascot.
The ebullient swashbuckling Italian says so himself as he prepares for his swansong at the five-day Festival which starts Tuesday and which has provided him with some of the highlights of his glittering career.
“The first four days will be OK, lots of waving, kissing and hugging and I hope a few flying dismounts,” said Dettori, who for many people is the face of racing. “But the last day will hit me hard. My wife and kids will be there. For sure I will cry.”
It should come as no surprise given his affection for a place he describes as the Olympics of racing.
“Royal Ascot is my favourite place in the world without question. I love everything about it, the tradition, the royal procession, everyone in top hat and tails.
“I come alive there and I’m in a different zone. It lifts me every time! And this year will be so special because it will be my last ever Royal Ascot.
“I can’t believe this year will be the last time ever.”
That said, the build up to the meeting will not have been different to past years for Dettori who rode his first winner there in 1990 on MarkofDistinction.
“In the week before I always get the same combination of nerves and excitement. But if I can get a winner on the board on the first day, I can relax and everything will flow.
“You go to the last day without a winner and all of a sudden you can panic a bit and don’t ride the way you should.”
The 52-year-old Italian vividly remembers riding MarkofDistinction to victory in the the Queen Anne Stakes 33 years ago – the first of his 77 winners at the royal meet.
“Emotionally, MarkofDistinction was the best feeling I ever had. You never forget your first. My father Gianfranco was there and it was an amazing day.
“MarkofDistinction was a big success for me because I was just breaking through from an apprentice to a senior jockey.
“Now many of the jockeys I ride against weren’t even born then. No wonder I am retiring this year!”
He says he knows it is time to stop before his powers start to wane.
“My heart doesn’t want to, but my brain says I must. I want to finish on the top.
“You are only one fall away from stopping. And at my age when I do fall, I break.
“In the old days I used to have 1,200 rides a year. Now it’s probably 250. The more rides, the more chance you have of falling off.”
Dettori’s association with Ascot will forever be linked to the amazing day in 1996 when he went through the card, winning all seven races.
“That was a freak,” he continued. “I am not sure how it happened!”
At the royal meeting he has swept all before him.
“Three years ago I completed the grand slam of the eight Group 1 races on the card at Royal Ascot.
“The Group 1s are the hardest races to win in the world as every trainer and jockey will testify to. It meant everything to have managed it.
“At Ascot it is crucial to be positioned perfectly on the bend as you meet the slightly faster ground in the straight.”
One of his most famous associations was with the hugely popular stayer Stradivarius in the Gold Cup.
“The Gold Cup has been my race over the years [he has won it eight times] and they are really special and I have been so lucky to have been associated with Stradivarius.
“Stadivarius won his first Gold Cup in 2018 but for pure class nothing can eclipse his hat trick victory in 2020. I pressed the button two furlongs out. The response was scintillating as he streaked to a 10-length triumph. It was wonderful.
“Papineau was a great horse, he was a stayer with a turn of foot, he travelled, went round on the bridle he was a push-button ride. When you pressed the button he put the race to bed. Drum Taps won back-to-back Gold Cups so he played a special part for me. too.”
The roar of the crowd and the adulation is what fires him.
“I don’t have a normal life. Jockeys can’t. We are adrenaline junkies 24-7. I like the big stage. I feed off the people and the pressure.
”I like the big stage. I feed off the people and the pressure. It makes me more alert, I probably want it more now. I need that now otherwise I can’t start. I’m a bit like an old diesel which needs a fuel injection to get it going properly. If I don’t get the boost from the crowd or the pressure I am just a number.”
So whilst his farewell tour winds its way around the world when will we really see him for the final time?
“I am still unsure exactly where the curtain will come down on my career but I can say for certain that my last rides in Britain will be October 21 at Ascot on British Champions Day. Come what may that’s me done in Europe.
“Which continent and whether I actually finish at the Breeders’ Cup in Los Angeles, Melbourne Cup or Japan Cup I am not sure.”
With more tears on the way no doubt.
