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It has been a thrilling, magnificent and sometimes rocky path, but this time, it seems the famed jockey's decision is final. The most celebrated jockey over the last 40 years is set to head into retirement following the primary events during the Breeders’ Cup in Del Mar on Saturday, when he will have three opportunities to add a farewell Grade One winner to his almost 300 already in his record. Racing may not witness a career quite like it again.

An Iconic Figure

Alongside racing great Lester Piggott and maybe John McCririck over the past half-century, “Frankie” registers with pretty much everyone, without needing a last name. The public knows his identity, even if they have absolutely no interest in what he does. In a world that has been divided by social media and the internet, Dettori may well be the last racing figure that will ever enjoy such instant name-recognition among a wide segment of Britain's people.

Dettori’s lifetime in horse racing, in fact, dates back to an era when the show A Question Of Sport regularly pulled in more than 10 million audience members, and his three-year role as a team captain was sufficient to establish him as the lively, unforgettable figure of racing. His last year on the program came in 2004, that was also the year when he secured the top jockey award for the third and final time. For much of the British public, however, he has probably been the champion for many seasons after that.

A Hard-Earned Fame

It is, in many ways, a hard-earned fame, a double-edged reward for events both on and off the track that have repeatedly propelled Dettori onto the front pages, since that memorable day at Ascot in 1996 when he defied massive 25,000-1 odds to ride all seven winners on the card.

In June 2000, he was pulled from a fiery crash of a light aircraft by his fellow rider, Ray Cochrane, after a crash during takeoff where the pilot lost his life. When he finally concluded his pursuit for a Derby victory in 2007, that also became front-page news.

While everyone admires a champion, they frequently adore a flawed hero and a return all the more. A half-year suspension after a failed drug test for cocaine could have been the finish for many riders in their 40s, plenty of time for owners and trainers to find a younger alternative. For Dettori, though, suspension in December 2012 served as a bridge to a revived partnership with John Gosden in Newmarket, and a fresh succession of winners and classic victors, such as Enable, Golden Horn and Stradivarius.

Public Highs and Lows

The celebrated successes and lows have been an essential part of his narrative, right up until the embarrassing confession this past March that he filed for bankruptcy after a prolonged dispute with tax authorities over unpaid taxes, a situation that he attempted, and did not succeed, to keep confidential.

There were numerous turns in his story, in fact, that it's easy to overlook that absent his tremendous, generational talent, there would have been no story at all.

Natural Ability

It was clear from the start as a young apprentice that he had a natural connection between horse and rider when Dettori was in the saddle.

Steeds performed for him, and got better under him. In 1990, he was the first teenager since Lester Piggott to reach 100 winners in one season, and also announced his emergence at the highest level with two Group One wins at Ascot, on the same card that he would charge without a loss just six years later. His iconic flying dismount, copied from the American legend Angel Cordero Jr, was incorporated into Dettori’s repertoire in 1994, and the buzz from riding a big-race winner has always stayed with him. Nor has the gift of sensing, with almost foresight, where to sit, when to strike and where openings will emerge.

The Future Ahead

But what now for the recognizable figure of British racing? It will not be easy to finally let go, whether or not Dettori fulfils his expressed wish to take “a few rides in South America, something that I’ve always wanted to experience”. This is not, in fact, an ambition that he had mentioned until now.

But the calamitous decision to follow tax guidance that resulted in his tax issues indicates that he will not draw down the curtain with sufficient funds saved up to relax and take things easy.

Fresh Ventures

He has been confirmed in a new role as a “global ambassador” with the football super-agent Kia Joorabchian’s growing Amo Racing enterprise. He explained to racing presenter Matt Chapman last Friday this was the primary reason for his departure now, as well as being able to conclude at the Breeders’ Cup. “Such chances are rare, very often. 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, he is a true legend of the sport,” Joorabchian said. “When you talk about great sportsmen such as LeBron James, Currys, Messis and Pelé and similar figures, Frankie is that for horse racing. When you go into Royal Ascot, you see a statue there, you realize that he has influenced countless lives across the world.

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

Reality TV are another option, although earlier outings on Big Brother and I'm A Celebrity have tended to reveal a more somber aspect of his personality, behind the ebullient public persona. In both programs, he was an early exit of the public vote.

It's possible that Dettori himself is unsure what he will do and how to spend his time once his riding career are over. And for another one more day, he stays an elite professional jockey, concentrating on three rides at one of the globe's prestigious and glamorous events on the schedule.

One Last Mount

A five-year-old mare called Argine will be his last top-level ride in the Breeders’ Cup Mile, the same race in which he registered his initial Breeders’ Cup win in 1994. Her performance in Japan indicates that she has something to improve to compete, but few riders historically have excelled in big moments like Frankie Dettori.

For one final time, is it time for Frankie?