How do you define the term ‘household name’? It’s a tricky one. There are probably plenty of people out there, from all walks of life, that most people have heard of; but would you ever describe a politician or an artist as such? Probably not. To reach this level, you need almost to become synonymous with your craft — and the people who scale those heights are few and far between. One such, however, is Frankie Dettori.
The Italian jockey is unarguably the greatest flat racing jockey of his generation, with thousands of winners — including dozens of Classics — to his name. He was only 14 when he moved to Britain to work as a stable lad for Luca Cumani in Newmarket, and before long had earned his chance to race.
His story since then is the stuff of sporting legend: from winning 100 races in a season while still a teenager (an achievement only Lester Piggott had garnered before he did) to going through the card at Ascot in 1996 to his later years of continued success, he’s survived everything from plane crashes and drug scandals to a stint on Celebrity Big Brother.
Lanfranco “Frankie” Dettori, MBE is an Italian horse racing jockey based in the United Kingdom. Dettori has been Champion Jockey on three occasions and has ridden the winners of more than 500 Group races. His most celebrated achievement was riding all seven winners on British Champions’ Day at Ascot in 1996.
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