Dettori Savors Farewell Tour Launched on Winning Note

At the age of 52 and through a storied 35-year career in which he has become one of the world's best and most famous jockeys, there is little Frankie Dettori has not experienced at a racetrack.

But one unique experience happened Dec. 26.

With 2023 serving as his final year in the saddle at racetracks around the world and the Nov. 3-4 Breeders' Cup at Santa Anita Park marking his farewell to the sport, Dettori has moved from his home near Newmarket in England to spend the winter in the sunny climes of southern California at The Great Race Place, and his stay started in a fashion worthy of nearby Hollywood.

On a non-Breeders' Cup day as magical and electric as California racing has seen in decades, a crowd of 41,446 turned out at Santa Anita for opening day, wagering a record $26.3 million. And amidst the backdrop of the majestic San Gabriel mountains, Dettori was the star of the day with three wins on the first afternoon of what promises to be a highly memorable farewell tour.

"It was a day that had a little bit of everything," Dettori said. "I was emotional. I was a little bit nervous. I was excited. I didn't know what to expect and had the pressure of riding one of the United States' best horses in Country Grammer  (in the San Antonio Stakes, G2). It was very touching, to be honest. There was a great crowd. The weather was fantastic and once Country Grammer was able to cross the wire (first), I enjoyed the day. It could not have gone any better."

In terms of fame and accomplishments, few, if any, have matched Dettori's international heroics. The European rider has won 21 British Classics and more than 3,300 races in Great Britain. He has 14 Breeders' Cup wins, six editons of the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (G1), and four Dubai World Cup Sponsored by Emirates Airline (G1) victories to his credit.

And he has a personality as big as his list of wins, which was showcased to a receptive and enthusiastic crowd Monday at Santa Anita.

"I don't see anything but good coming from having Frankie here. He has such a strong personality. It's all business for him but it's awesome for the fans because they can participate in the excitement when he wins. As long as we have him there is going to be lots more fun and lots more stories coming out of it," said Aidan Butler, CEO of 1/ST Racing and Gaming. "As a company we're tough on ourselves because we are always trying to do better, so for everything to come together and have such a great opening day and then to have Frankie come over and win three races was the cherry on a special day. It was such a beautiful sight to see for Santa Anita.

"I was getting worried about Frankie's ankles with all those flying dismounts (after a win) because he usually lands on grass in Europe instead of rubber in our winner's circle."

Dettori is hardly a stranger to Santa Anita. He has ridden in the Breeders' Cup there and early in his career rode there for a bit as an unknown commodity. Now he's back in a much different fashion as a world-famous rider. While he says he's still trying to get over the jetlag—"I can't stay awake past 7 p.m.," he said—he has his golf shoes ready for a few rounds in the warm California sun and plans to attend a Los Angeles Lakers basketball game in the coming days.

"I've never seen a Lakers game so I'm looking forward to removing that from my bucket list," said Dettori who is "crashing" at the Pasadena home of trainer Simon Callaghan until, as he puts it, "Simon gets fed up with me."

While how long he stays with Callaghan may be up in the air, Dettori's U.S. agent Ron Anderson says the plan calls for Dettori to stay at Santa Anita through Runhappy Santa Anita Derby (G1, April 8) weekend "depending on how things go."

After the initial round of results, with three wins from six mounts, it's certainly full steam ahead into 2023.

"It all feels very good right now," said Anderson, a legendary figure in his profession who also represents Hall of Famer John Velazquez, who will also be part of the world-class Santa Anita jockey colony this winter, and Joel Rosario. "Frankie was very excited after Monday. It was a good way for him to start and a good advertisement about California racing with everyone showing up for the races."

Dettori's first win on Monday came aboard Commonwealth Thoroughbreds, WinStar Farm, and Zedan Racing Stables' Country Grammer, who took the San Antonio by 4 1/2 lengths for his first win since Dettori guided the son of Tonalist   to a March 26 victory in the $12 million Dubai World Cup.

Trainer Bob Baffert said Dettori gave Country Grammer the kind of race the Hall of Famer has come to expect from one of the sport's best jockeys.

"I think he felt a lot of pressure with the way they built him up, but like all the great riders, you give him a good horse and they deliver. He came out like he had been riding at Santa Anita all his life. He has that confidence level and horses run well for him. The good riders keep a horse from getting beat and that's what he does," Baffert said. "He's prepared. He knows every horse he rides. He does his homework. He has a Plan A and a Plan B and luckily he didn't have to go to Plan B with Country Grammer."

Dettori closed out the day winning a downhill allowance turf sprint on Reddam Racing's La Deuxieme Etoile  for trainer Doug O'Neill and repaid his host's kindness by winning aboard the Coolmore Team and Westerberg's Ballet Dancing  for Callaghan in an allowance race on turf.

"He's taking this so seriously. You would think a guy with his accomplishments would coast, but he's trying to ride as many winners as he can and go out on top," Butler said.

Looking forward, he had five rides on the Dec. 30 card at Santa Anita, followed by four on Dec. 31 and one Jan. 1.

Andersen is also trying to line up some mounts for Dettori on the Jan. 28 Pegasus World Cup (G1) Day at Gulfstream Park, also a 1/ST Racing track, and in time he'll probably find an promising 3-year-old that may give Dettori a reason to return to the United States for  the first Saturday in May at Churchill Downs.

"I'm reasonably sure he'll wind up on a decent 3-year-old at some point and we'll explore the possibility of riding in the Kentucky Derby (G1)," Anderson said. "He's a world-class rider. A fresh face, which is good anywhere. He's a tremendous person and a tremendous rider who has ridden at 100 different racetracks and can handle any configuration. There will be times he needs to ship out of town for a certain horse but I think the sky's the limit as the meet goes on."

For Dettori, coming to Santa Anita was made easier with top-class European racing shuttered for the winter. That situation will change in the spring, though the fact that Dettori has ridden in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) only once (sixth on China Visit in 2000) figures to add to the intrigue of being in Louisville.

"I would think by March I'll know if the Kentucky Derby is a possibility," Dettori said. "But at the moment I can't think past the Dubai World Cup. After that, everything is open. I'll have to do my rounds. There will be a lot of farewells in different countries, like my homeland Italy."

Dettori did not dismiss the possibility of bringing his farewell tour to Saratoga Race Course in the summer in some shape or form.

"In the last year I went to New York a few times at Belmont Park and Aqueduct Racetrack, so Saratoga is a possibility," he said. "We'll see."

As Dettori spends the winter in the shadow of Tinseltown, it is largely due to Butler, who has known the famed rider for about 20 years. In recent years, he has prodded Dettori about riding at Santa Anita or Gulfstream for the winter, including this past summer at Royal Ascot. 

"I applaud Santa Anita management for reaching out to Frankie," Anderson said. "He's a breath of fresh air, obviously. He's extremely enthusiastic, upbeat, and a pleasure to be around and he has always been that way."

When Butler saw him at the Breeders' Cup in November, he was delighted to hear that Dettori was keen on the idea of riding in California.

"Aidan planted the seed in my head and then I called Ron and set it in motion," said Dettori, who waited to reveal his Santa Anita plans until the Dec. 17 announcement of his impending retirement. "I had originally thought of racing in South America and it meant leaving my family (in England) for Christmas because Ron said it would be best to be there for opening day. But I've been on the road for 30 years so thy are used to it. My kids don't believe in Santa Claus anymore. It was the start of the end of my career and I wanted to put 110% into it and show people I'm here to do the best I can because there will not be another year."

For Butler, there was the added satisfaction of landing Dettori and having an opening day that exceeded expectations.

"I think it was one of those special days that everyone was waiting for and some of the narratives about California racing got put in the background for a while. I can't see having a much better opening day. Speaking to people who been around for decades, they couldn't remember a day like that for a very long time. Knowing we can do something like that when everything comes together gives us a lot of hope going forward. We didn't expect that volume of people. There were lines everywhere. It's hard to think of ways to improve the day but we'll try," Butler said. "It was a perfect storm. It was a few years of concentration on media, especially local media. Social media is great but sometimes you do have to go back to localized marketing and we put a lot of time and effort into that and having a real good card helps with that. We've changed the team over the past few years and we paid a price a little bit but our emphasis is on safety and quality racing and when you do that you can have days like Monday when everything comes together and it's spectacular."

Suffice it to say, kicking off Frankie Dettori's farewell tour with three wins only made the day more unforgettable.

"Starting at Santa Anita and ending at Santa Anita in the Breeders' Cup," Butler said, "is one of those things you couldn't really write a script for."