Racing’s 'Rocket Man' Frankie Dettori still flying high ahead of final Derby ride on Arrest

At the age of 52 and having precious little to prove in a sporting sense, one could be forgiven for thinking Frankie Dettori might be going through the motions in this his final season as a jockey.

A glorified lap of honour featuring extravagant kisses blown towards adoring crowds, one or two creaky flying dismounts, maybe even the flag of Italy draped around tired shoulders come Champions Day at Ascot, where his glittering career, on British soil at least, is to come to an end.

Think again.

It’s not quite Elton’s five-year Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour - also currently entering its final summer swing - but Frankie’s still standing alright and no doubt feeling like a little kid after bagging Classic trials at Chester and in the hazy York sunshine last week.

Wednesday’s striking Musidora winner Soul Sister is unquestionably an intriguing rival to hot favourite Savethelastdance in the Betfred Oaks, but the Juddmonte-owned Frankel colt Arrest is the more significant of the two for Dettori, who after partnering the horse in a racecourse gallop around Tattenham Corner on Monday morning appears to have moved one step closer to what would be a dream conclusion to his life in the saddle – by winning the 2000 Guineas, the Derby and the St Leger in the same season.

Talk of a possible Triple Crown bid was rife through the winter months and early-spring as the whispers from Ballydoyle surrounding Auguste Rodin grew louder, but while that particular project was going up in smoke on a sodden Rowley Mile, Dettori simultaneously kick-started his own Classic trail aboard Andrew Balding’s Chaldean.

Guineas hero Chaldean, another son of Frankel in the silks of Juddmonte with whom the rider has been so closely associated in recent years thanks in the main to the remarkable exploits of Enable, is no middle-distance horse, that much is clear. But Dettori himself now has his eyes fixed on leg two of the Triple Crown, and it won’t be lost on him that the last jockey to ride the winner of the 2000 Guineas, Epsom Derby and St Leger in the same campaign was Lester Piggott.

“Going into it this last year with a horse with a chance, I couldn’t really expect that to happen,” said Dettori.

“So I’m going to really enjoy it and just let the day happen.

“The word was good in the stables when I came back in the spring [regarding Arrest], the horse has filled out a lot and is in good shape after winning the trial really well. Fingers crossed, he has a great chance in the Derby.

“We took him here [Epsom] to get a feel for Tattenham Corner because races can be won and lost there. He handled it really well and he’s had a good outing.

“I’ve ridden Golden Horn, Cracksman, Emily Upjohn all here at the gallops morning, and many more. It gives them a day out from their normal routine and gets them used to the track. It’s the only time in their career that they’ve got to run flat-out left-handed down a hill so it’s good that they get a feel of it.

“It’s all systems go.”

‘The Long Fellow’ Piggott twice achieved the notable Guineas-Derby-Leger treble; firstly in 1968 courtesy of Sir Ivor (Guineas and Derby) and Ribero (Leger), and then with the most recent Triple Crown-winning horse, Nijinsky, just two years later.

Willie Carson, Johnny Murtagh and Ryan Moore have all come close since the glory days of Lester, though Dettori has only once before won two of the three colts’ Classics in the same year – in 1996 when Shantou let the side down by finishing third in the middle leg at Epsom.

Shantou’s trainer John Gosden has played a seismic role in resurrecting the once-tainted career of racing’s own Rocket Man over the past decade and, together with son and joint licence-holder Thady, is now responsible for Dettori’s final Derby ride in the impressive Cheshire Vase winner.

After seeing Arrest pull nicely clear of work rival Harrovian at Epsom’s organised pre-Derby event, Gosden was speaking with a typically problem-free philosophy when assessing the state of the current crop in general: “We had a wet spring, a few of the horses got a bit behind and the trials were a little inconclusive to an extent.

“The Derby is early this year, right bang at the beginning of June, so it’s rather inevitable that it’s an open picture. But there’s nothing wrong with that, it’s quite a healthy thing.

“There’ll be a champion crowned, don’t worry.

“It would be good news if it was Frankie and I hope we get the horse there on the day and run a big race – at least we’ve got him [Dettori] a nice Derby ride."

There are nice Derby rides and there are nice Derby rides, of course, and if Arrest is to be this year’s champion then he may need an extra sprinkling of that unteachable Dettori magic. He’s won the race twice in the past by five lengths (Authorized) and three and a half lengths (Golden Horn), but would take victory of any description at this stage - the 28th and final time of asking.

And should all go to plan in 12 days' time, Dettori will be on the lookout for a nice St Leger ride come the middle of September. What better place to look than Gosden's Clarehaven yard that has won the race five times before?

But there are more hits yet to be written before the final Classic, including at what promises to be an emotional last Royal meeting at Dettori's home-from-home Ascot next month, plus that search for an elusive first Group 1 triumph in the July Cup at Newmarket.

Whatever may unfold over the next five months, the almost timeless Frankie has already made his mark in 2023, and you get the sense this farewell tour is only just getting rolling.

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