oddschecker teamed up with Sporting Index for a special edition of our ‘A Day in the Life’ series ahead of Royal Ascot 2022, tracking legendary flat racing jockey Frankie Dettori.
“It's basically like being an adrenaline junkie. The more you win, the more you want to win.”
Clear insight into the elite mindset of Frankie Dettori, widely regarded as one of - if not the most - successful flat jockeys of all time with over 3,000 winners to his name.
We followed him in the build-up to race day as he wakes up early for a first ride in six months on Stradivarius, the eight-year-old trained by John and Thady Gosden who is chasing a fourth Ascot Gold Cup next week in what will be his final outing at the Royal Meeting.
“As you know it's his last year so I try to capture these special moments with him because once he's gone he's gone,” said Frankie. “He's been such an important part of my life.
“I've won three Gold Cups with him. I've had more Group race wins on him than I did on Enable. You'd never have thought that, would you?”
Enable, for those not aware, was a revered horse in her own right who won 11 Group One races. Frankie, however, shared his major regret for how her career ended in October 2020.
“Enable was cheated by Covid. Because of it, she didn’t get the farewell she deserved, but I’m sure when the Strad goes to Ascot this year he will get a hero’s farewell. I will be super nervous to try to win a fourth Gold Cup, but I will probably cry once we pass the line.”
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Clearly, then, his passion and emotional connection to the sport of racing remains as strong as ever before in his 35th year. But how did it all start for him? What keeps him motivated at the age of 51? And what’s next for him?
“Like any Italian kid I wanted to be a footballer,” he told us. “But one summer month we went on holiday, and when we came back to the squad everyone else had grown a foot and I hadn’t. So that job went out the window and I got into racing!”
When it comes to motivation, you only have to listen to him speak to understand how brightly the fire still burns. And, fittingly, his response to the question starts with a nod to some of the legendary horses he has become the most synonymous with.
“What keeps me motivated is striving to find the next Enable, the next Stradivarius, the next Golden Horn,” he shared. “That’s what keeps me motivated and that’s the main reason I go in the morning to find that rough diamond in the stable.”
Stradivarius might be entering the final furlong of his career, and one last battle with Alan King’s Trueshan, but there’s no sign yet of Frankie following suit.
He concluded: “I'm 51, I feel alright. I enjoy what I'm doing but I'm taking it a year at a time. I've got no time schedule when I'm going to stop. At the moment I'm getting the good rides, I still enjoy what I'm doing and I'm carrying on!"
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