The Frankie Dettori retirement tour has been extended to the Melbourne Cup as the 52-year-old seeks his first success in the signature event of the Spring Carnival and Australia’s most famous horse race in November. Dettori is hanging up his saddle before the end of 2023 after he announced this would be his last year as a professional jockey.
Frankie Dettori Retirement Tour Set For Dazzling Finish In Melbourne
Legendary and beloved Italian rider Dettori has confirmed that Qipco British Champions Day on Saturday, 21 October at Ascot will be his final meeting in Britain.
He will then head over to Santa Anita, California to ride at the Breeders’ Cup World Championships over the first weekend of November before flying to Australia for Flemington’s Spring Carnival.
The Frankie Dettori retirement tour is set to cross the Pacific Ocean for rides in the Lexus Melbourne Cup (Tuesday, 7 November), Kennedy Oaks (Thursday, 9 November) and then TAB Champions Stakes (Saturday, 11 November) in an extension to his farewell tour.
In his glittering 35-year career, the jockey has won more than 250 Group 1 races around the world and added a ninth Gold Cup last week in his final Royal Ascot festival, landing four events during the meeting taking his career wins at the UK’s premier Flat festival to 81.
WHAT A RACE! @FrankieDettori wins the Gold Cup aboard Courage Mon Ami! #RoyalAscot 🏆 pic.twitter.com/dOcUjboc4w
— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) June 22, 2023
Dettori has never won the Melbourne Cup, however, and is eyeing a fairy-tale ending to his illustrious career.
“I have achieved all there is to achieve in horse racing and I have had a fantastic career, but the Lexus Melbourne Cup has always been one race that I would love to win,” he said.
“I am looking forward to returning to Melbourne to ride at the Carnival for one final time and hopefully I can finish my career with a Melbourne Cup win.”
Frankie had his first ride in the Melbourne Cup in 1993 when aboard Drum Taps, but has failed to win the famous race in 17 attempts. However, he has come close to winning the feature on a number of occasions – Dettori saddled Central Park to a 2nd place finish in 1999 and Max Dynamite was runner up in 2015 before Master of Reality came 2nd in 2019, but was relegated to 4th.
Victoria Racing Club chief executive officer Steve Rosich is looking forward to welcoming Dettori back to Flemington for one final time.
“Frankie Dettori is one of the best jockeys and personalities the sport has ever seen and the VRC look forward to giving him a fitting farewell at Flemington at the Melbourne Cup Carnival,” he said.
10 Key Remaining Dates on Frankie Dettori Retirement Tour
- 8 July – Coral-Eclipse, Sandown
- 13-15 July – July Festival, Newmarket
- 1-5 August, Qatar Goodwood Festival, Glorious Goodwood
- 23-26 August, Ebor Festival, York
- 9-10 September, Irish Champions Weekend, Leopardstown & Curragh
- 14-17 September, St Leger Festival, Doncaster
- 30 September & 1 October, Arc Weekend, Longchamp, Paris, France
- 21 October, QIPCO British Champions Day, Ascot
- 3-4 November, Breeders’ Cup, Santa Anita Park, California, USA
- 7 November, Melbourne Cup, Flemington, Melbourne, Australia
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There’s a lot more to horse racing here on SportsLens. We’ll be following the Frankie Dettori retirement tour throughout the rest of this year, but also check out these pages:
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