On his first ride since taking a “sabbatical” from his relationship with John and Thady Gosden, Frankie Dettori partnered Lezoo to victory at Newmarket
It became apparent that all was not well with the Dettori and Gosden association on Thursday when the jockey’s name appeared alongside the Ralph Beckett-trained filly in the Maureen Brittain Memorial Empress Fillies’ Stakes, but not the Gosden-trained horses on the same card.
By Friday evening Gosden senior announced that the pair had paused their working relationship – without closing the door for good – but if Dettori has shown anything during his illustrious career, it is that he is a dangerous man with a point to prove.
It briefly looked like Lezoo had a mountain to climb as Malrescia kicked clear at Headquarters, but Dettori’s timing was on point and she won going away by a length and three-quarters.
WATCH: Lezoo wins at Newmarket under Frankie Dettori
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Despite producing a trademark ‘flying dismount’ in the winners’ enclosure afterwards, the usually flamboyant Dettori was quite uncharacteristically reserved when speaking afterwards, though he was quick to voice his appreciation at the warm atmosphere he received from the crowd.
He said: “I haven’t been away, I’ve only been off for five days! I’m really touched by the support though and I didn’t expect that, so it was great.”
Dettori has a close relationship with owner Marc Chan and while similarly subdued, his Racing Manager Jamie McCalmont described the victory as an ‘emotional’ one.
He said: “I don’t need to say anything do I! It feels good and it’s great to see him have this reception. I’m quite emotional, it’s like winning a Group One race and it’s a Listed race. What more can I say, he made the horse great. Let’s leave it at that. I wouldn’t know Marc Chan if it wasn’t for Frankie, what more can I tell you.
“We bought this filly from France about seven weeks ago and she won at Bath a couple of weeks ago. We didn’t really expect her to win so well that day and we came here thinking she had a chance.
"It was her second start and we’ll probably come back here for the Cherry Hinton next (Group Two Duchess of Cambridge Stakes on Friday 8th July). We’ll see how she comes out of the race but it was a great effort from Ralph’s team.”
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Despite his split with John Gosden, Frankie Dettori will have no problem finding support, according to trainers Hugo Palmer and Roger Varian – with Aidan O’Brien also voicing his admiration for the rider.
The ever-popular Italian provided the perfect riposte to critics who have doubted his ability in recent weeks with a peach of a ride on his only mount of the day at Newmarket, booting Lezoo to success in the Listed Maureen Brittain Memorial Empress Fillies’ Stakes.
Following a few high-profile defeats at Epsom and Royal Ascot, Gosden and Dettori indefinitely paused the long-standing partnership with a brief statement on Friday.
Though the Clarehaven Stables handler, who shares a licence with son Thady, stated the duo were “taking a sabbatical”, Dettori will now plough his own furrow.
O’Brien has turned to Dettori in recent years when fielding multiple contenders in big races, with the rider picking up some handy spares after retained jockey Ryan Moore has made his selection.
The relationship has yielded high-profile success, with Dettori partnering St Mark’s Basilica to win the Dewhurst in 2020 while the duo enjoyed double Classic success last year via Mother Earth in the 1000 Guineas and Snowfall in the Oaks.
O’Brien said: “He’s a great rider, always was and still is. Anytime we ever could get him, we were privileged to have him.
“When Frankie is available, we always feel privileged that he rides for us.”
Palmer, who was in attendance at Newmarket to saddle Ever Given in the Group Three Criterion Stakes, feels the 51-year-old rider will not lack for rides, despite taking just 88 mounts in Britain in 2022, with all but 15 for Gosden’s team.
Palmer, who teamed up with Dettori in 2016 to win both the 2000 Guineas and St James’s Palace Stakes with Galileo Gold, said: “I have already offered him a ride, but he is going to be in America.
“He is not just a great jockey – Frankie is the only jockey alive today who can claim to be the greatest of all time. (Lester) Piggott is dead, (Fred) Archer is dead, (Sir Gordon) Richards is dead. None of the rest of them – look at Frankie’s Group One record compared to any other rider alive. It is extraordinary.
“Frankie picks and chooses his rides. While James Doyle is my number one pick, so it would be in the absence of James, but 100 per cent, we will support him if we had the right horse and he was available.
“We might possibly, depending on the weather, supplement two for the July Cup in two weeks’ times, and I asked Frankie this morning if he’d be free, but he said he would be in America.
“Frankie has a lot of big days ahead of him. The two biggest days of my career – the 2000 Guineas and the St James’s Palace Stakes – were in Frankie’s hands, so we are eternally grateful to him for that and we’d like to win a third one for him!”
Newmarket handler Varian is also adamant Dettori will remain a popular choice if the right horse became available.
“We have got a strong team of jockeys, so there are not many spare rides from the stable, but he has ridden big winners for us in the past and I’m sure he will, at some point, ride for us again,” said Varian.
“We like Frankie and we are fans of him, but we have six jockeys in the team to look after. He rode us our first Group One winner a few years ago (Nahrain in the 2011 Prix de l’Opera), so we are big fans of his.”
Fellow jockeys Tom Marquand and Robert Havlin were also quick to back racing’s superstar.
Marquand said: “He’s a legend of our sport and competed at the highest level for many, many years.
“It is what it is. He’s incredible for our sport and there’s a reason he’s been at the top for so long.
“Partnerships are partnerships, whether it be within sport or marriages or anything, there’s going to be disputes, I suppose.
“Hopefully everything resolves itself and everything turns out for the best for everyone.”
Havlin, who rides for the Gosden team, added: “It was wonderful to see him win today and we were all delighted for him, as I am sure John (Gosden) was. They go back a long way.
“Frankie is a legend and he’s got big days in him yet. Sometimes things don’t work out and perhaps it is the best thing for both parties, but I’m sure he has plenty of big winners left.”
