In the middle of the Derby day ballyhoo, Frankie Dettori took the unusual step of assuring the racing world that he was not on the point of retirement.
The Italian was moved to speak out after being repeatedly asked by friends and journalists, all of whom had heard a rumour that has been around for a few weeks but swept round Epsom like wildfire.
Dettori, 47, has long insisted that he planned to continue riding until he was at least 50, so stopping at this point would have been surprising, particularly in the middle of a season and particularly when he has a star in Cracksman to ride in races such as the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.
Having won the second race of the day aboard the joint-favourite Wilamina, Dettori talked through the race before adding, unprompted: “And I’m not retiring.
Well, you’ll have to retire one day, someone said. “No,” insisted Dettori, smiling. “Not this weekend, anyway.” Turning to the crowd around the winner’s enclosure, he yelled: “I am not retiring.” And to ram the point home, he added: “Five more years,” as he climbed the podium to receive his trophy.
If the rumour had been true, Dettori would not have gone out on a winner, though he was prominent for much of this Derby on the Aga Khan’s Hazapour. Whether through lack of stamina or lack of quality, the colt faded into fifth in the final quarter-mile after being given every chance by his rider.
“I had a lovely trip, sat in third but he didn’t get home,” Dettori said. The jockey is without a ride in Sunday’s French Derby, so Cracksman’s scrambled win in Friday’s Coronation Cup will have to do as the highlight of his weekend.
