LONDON (AP) — Jockey great Frankie Dettori plans to retire from the saddle at the end of 2023.
“Next year, 2023, will be my final professional year as a jockey," the 52-year-old Italian told ITV Racing on Saturday. “I will break the news now. It is something I have been thinking about for a while.”
Dettori won the Epsom Derby with Authorized in 2007 and Golden Horn in 2015.
Dettori, who famously went through the card with seven winners in seven races at Ascot in September 1996, said he will officially bow out at the Breeders’ Cup at Santa Anita in November.
“I will be riding right through (2023), obviously it will be my last Guineas, my last Derby, my last Royal Ascot so on and so forth. . . . The final farewell as a professional rider will be in California at the Breeders’ Cup.”
Dettori, who survived a plane crash at Newmarket in 2000, insisted the decision has not been taken lightly.
“I’ve been thinking about it for a few weeks and I’ve decided with the firepower I have next year and the horses I have to ride I can finish my career on a big note. Fingers crossed I stay in one piece and we’ll give it a good go," he said.
“Look at (Cristiano) Ronaldo. One day he was playing and he’s on the bench the next. I don’t want to end up like that and end up where I’m struggling to get rides in the big races."
___
More AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
