The legendary Italian jockey will ride in his final Royal meeting, having been a feature at Ascot for over 30 years; Dettori's Magnificent Seven in 1996 has cemented his place in racing and Ascot folklore; watch Royal Ascot later this month on Sky Sports Racing
Thursday 8 June 2023 14:13, UK
Frankie Dettori will forever be synonymous with Ascot.
Racegoers pass a statue of the Italian as they enter the track and his name has been a feature on the racecard for over 30 years.
The great man once said: "Ascot to me is everything. The crowd gets behind me and I love it! I'm no different to an actor going on stage in the theatre. I need the atmosphere, I can smell it, breathe it and taste it."
Now, as the 52-year-old enjoys his final season in the saddle and prepares for one last hurrah at Royal Ascot this month, we look back on some of Dettori's most unforgettable Ascot moments…
First major success at Royal Ascot came in 1990 on board Luca Cumani's Markofdistinction in the Queen Anne Stakes.
Just three years earlier, Cumani had provided Dettori with his first career winner, aged just 16, and he would go on to become the first teenager since the great Lester Piggott to reach 100 winners in a season.
Markofdistinction was, at that time, Cumani's best horse from a yard packed with talent and Dettori delivered his mount from last to first for a remarkable victory.
Three months later, the same horse provided Dettori with his first Group One in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes as the pair got the better of Pat Eddery-ridden Distant Relative. Eddery, a legend very much in his own right, would see plenty of Dettori's rear-end in subsequent Berkshire battles.
Saturday September 28, 1996 is regarded as one of the most remarkable days in British racing history.
On a day that was to cost to bookmaker industry a reported £40m, Dettori steamed through a highly competitive and valuable Ascot card, winning all seven races, including the highly coveted QEII Stakes.
Wall Street, a 2/1 favourite, got the ball rolling with a straight-forward victory in the opening Cumberland Lodge Stakes.
Many great sporting moments require a little fortune and Dettori found plenty in race two as Diffident narrowly held off a luckless Lucayan Prince to win the Diadem Stakes in a photo finish.
The third race was the big one and Dettori's special day developed a real head of steam as Mark Of Esteem outbattled Bosra Sham - ridden by Eddery - in the QEII.
Next, Dettori and Decorated Hero turned the Tote Festival Handicap into a procession, before Fatefully survived a stewards' enquiry to win race five.
Lochangel was considered one of Dettori's bankers in the Blue Seal Conditions Stakes and she duly delivered to make it six out of six.
That meant it would fall on Fujiyama Crest, as big as 12/1 on the morning of the race, to be the history maker for Dettori in the Gordon Carter Stakes.
The pair went from the front and Dettori would have to hold off Eddery once more on Northern Fleet to complete his magnificent seven and elevate the jockey to celebrity status.
Having combined for four of the magnificent seven, Dettori and powerhouse owner-breeders Godolphin went on to numerous Ascot success throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s.
The dominance they enjoyed was demonstrated with three of Dettori's seven King George VI & Queen Elizabeth successes coming in the royal blue with Swain (1998), Daylami (1999) and Doyen (2004).
The appropriately-named Dubai Millennium provided Dettori with some of his most cherished victories around the turn of the millennium, including the 1999 QEII Stakes.
Although it would have been bitter-sweet for Dettori the following year as he watched on from the stands during Dubai Millennium's Prince Of Wales's Stakes victory at Royal Ascot having broken his ankle in a plane crash just days before the meeting.
Together, Dettori and Godolphin won five Queen Anne Stakes titles, three Prince Of Wales's Stakes wins and three Gold Cups.
As 2012 drew to a close, the racing world was shaken with the news that Dettori had received a worldwide six-month ban for failing a drugs test.
With Dettori then in his early 40s, many concluded that could signal the end of his riding career for good.
But, with the support of new owners such as Sheikh Joaan Al Thani, the big winners soon returned for Dettori, including Galileo Gold in the 2016 St James's Palace Stakes.
American trainer Wesley Ward also turned to Dettori for some of his international raiders at Royal Ascot such as Undrafted (2015 Golden Jubilee Stakes winner), Lady Aurelia (2016 Queen Mary Stakes winner) and Campanelle (2020 Queen Mary Stakes and 2021 Commonwealth Cup winner).
Dettori has enjoyed a glorious extended twilight period, thanks in huge part to a successful reunion with leading trainer John Gosden.
Following William Buick's departure to Godolphin in 2015, Dettori and Gosden reunited and made an immediate impact.
Golden Horn would be the first superstar of the Gosden-Dettori era, winning the 2015 Derby, but it was Enable who shone the brightest at Ascot.
Juddmonte's incredible mare rode herself into racing legend with three King George triumphs in 2017, 2018 and 2020 - the only horse to ever achieve the feat.
In the same period, Dettori also tasted repeat Ascot success with Cracksman as he twice blew away the field in the Qipco Champion Stakes, bowing out in style in 2018.
The great Stradivarius enjoyed a glittering career but his most famous days came under Dettori at Ascot, winning three consecutive Gold Cups between 2018 and 2020.
Watch every race from Dettori's final Royal Ascot meeting live on Sky Sports Racing from Tuesday, June 20 to Saturday, June 24.
