He might now be the old man of the weighing room at 51 but Frankie Dettori again showed that remains the grand master when making it a fourth victory in the Dubai World Cup on Country Grammer at Meydan.
It is 22 years since the Italian first won Dubai’s headliner with Dubai Millennium, followed Moon Ballad in 2003 and Electrocutionist in 2006, but his appetite for the occasion has not diminished.
He said: “It was so surreal when I hit the furlong pole and I knew I was going to win. I was like ‘wow’.
“To have the crowd behind me is great and I really believed in this horse.”
It was also a fourth victory in the race for the colt’s American trainer Bob Baffert.
Dettori (above) was also at the very top of his game when partnering Lord North to dead-heat with Panthalassa in the Dubai Turf, the race the pair had won outright the previous year.
Victory looked in the bag for the John and Thady Gosden-trained Lord North but the Japanese runner stuck to him like a limpet.
A relieved Dettori said: “A stride after the line I was third so I was just delighted to be involved in the winner’s photo-finish. To get a dead-heat is great.
“The horse nearly died last year and just to get him back here is an achievement.
“And to get him to run like that is even better. I’m chuffed we’ve defended our crown – even if we’ve had to share it!”
