Frankie Dettori cannot even recall where he finished in his first Derby in 1992, but the one clear memory he retains from his debut in the Epsom classic underlines the extent to which he is a human bridge to a different age. “The only thing I remember is walking through the Gypsies [in the middle of the course] back in the day,” he said this week. “That was the only time I got to do that. From then on [after the paddock moved], we went all the way round [on the track].”
Devotees and historians of the Flat’s most famous race could also point out that it was one of the last to be run on a Wednesday, Lester Piggott was aboard the beaten favourite, Rodrigo De Triano, and Steve Cauthen and Pat Eddery were also among the 21-year-old Dettori’s rivals. And now, more than three decades later, his own time as the name that the once-a-year punters look out for on Derby day is drawing to a close.
It has to be said that Dettori has not rewarded his fans at Epsom with anything like the clockwork regularity of the late Piggott, who eventually bowed out here with nine Derby winners to his name. Dettori famously needed 15 attempts to get home in front, and was beaten on outstanding horses including Cape Verdi, Dubai Millennium and Dubawi before his first success on Authorized in 2007. Even a victory on Arrest on Saturday would improve his Derby record to just a relatively modest three from 28.
But there is, of course, only one Derby, and somewhat to his surprise, Dettori will be riding one of the favourites in his Epsom swansong.
“When I said I was going to retire in December,” he says, “I never thought I’d be able to ride a horse with a great chance to win the Derby. So it is a great position to be in that I didn’t expect.
“I rode Cape Verdi, that got beat, I rode Dubai Millennium, loads of good ones that got beat. I can’t remember them all, but the point about the Derby is that it’s only once a year and once it’s gone, it’s gone. At least at [Royal] Ascot you’ve got 35 races. If you make a balls-up on one, you’ve got another four that afternoon. But the Derby only comes once.
“It is the most important [race]. For a jockey, when you start, you want to win the Derby. Trainers, owners, breeders, the Derby is why we are breeding these thoroughbreds, for that race. The tradition has been going for hundreds of years and it will be going for another hundreds of years.”
Arrest was “all frame” last year when Dettori announced that the 2023 season would be his last in the saddle, but the colt has “filled out to be a good-looking horse and strong”, and one whose impressive success in the Chester Vase last month confirms that the mile and a half trip around Epsom will hold no fears.
Dettori says that relief was the primary emotion after he finally broke his Derby duck. “It was a nightmare [to be reminded of it], every time we came to the Derby. Finally, it was the last piece of the jigsaw, and even more because he was a big favourite from three weeks before. There was a lot on me and it was a relief.
“Golden Horn [in 2015] was different, I really got to enjoy it. I was older, my kids were older, I didn’t have the pressure to try to win it for the first time either, so it was a lot more enjoyable. Probably one of my biggest thrills in one single race was that race.”
Authorized and Golden Horn set off as the favourites after strong support from punters around the country. A similar wave of sentimental cash for Arrest in the hours before Saturday’s race, due off at the unusually early time of 1.30pm, could yet see him head the market too, and his fans have plenty of winnings to play up after Dettori completed a Group One double in the Coronation Cup and Oaks on Friday’s Epsom card.
How many of Dettori’s supporters will be at Epsom to wave him off, however, remains to be seen. An inauspicious run-up to this weekend’s meeting has included the announcement of train strikes on both days of the Derby Festival, a clash with the FA Cup final that has shunted the big race to around lunchtime, and the granting of an injunction to the Jockey Club in what may well prove to be a fruitless attempt to keep animal rights activists off the course.
There are likely to be “walk-up” tickets available for the grandstand, which is most unusual on Derby day, and a significant proportion of the tens of thousands who normally get the train to Tattenham Corner will surely be weighing up their options and deciding whether to give Epsom a miss this year.
If so, it is the thought of having one last chance to see Frankie ride a fancied horse in the Derby that could persuade at least some of them to make the extra effort. Dettori may not recall much about his first ride in our greatest Classic all those years ago, but a final flourish aboard Arrest would ensure that the 2023 Derby, for all the right reasons, is one that we never forget.
