Frankie Dettori rekindles magnificent memories with Sizzling Six

Remember when Frankie Dettori announced in 2022 that he’d soon be hanging up his saddle? He embarked on a global farewell tour of many of the racecourses on which he’d built a reputation as one of the greatest jockeys to have graced the racing game.

There were emotional goodbyes. Then he came with a late run up the outside rail and said he’d only be semi-retiring – and moving to California for some sunshine, his kids’ education, and the occasional ride for beer money.

We should have known better when he recently said, “I’ve still got the fire inside!”

Six winners

The fire blew into an inferno at the weekend when the Anglo-Italian superstar booted home six winners in a row at picturesque Santa Anita.

The 53-year-old said: “I adore this place and to be able to say that I won six races on [Santa Anita] Derby day is beyond my wildest dreams.

“I don’t know how to put it into words. Is it real? Am I dreaming? Is this really happening? It’s incredible. I just don’t know what to say.”

Magnificent Seven

Dettori is famed for his ‘Magnificent Seven’ at Royal Ascot in 1996, when he won all seven races on one day’s card and bankrupted a few bookies.

The winning streak on Saturday started with Ball Don’t Lie in a maiden.

Then he partnered Recinto Rompere in a claiming race, then Roberta’s Love in the $125,000 Evening Jewel Stakes, then Kathynmarissa in another maiden, then Nothing Like You in the Grade 2 $300,000 Santa Anita Oaks – a 7.50-length victory for trainer Bob Baffert. The sixth win was courtesy of Royal Charter before Dettori had to settle for second place on Imagination in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby.

“He’s just a phenomenon,” said Baffert. “He’s world class and has brought his talent to every stage.”

‘Dettori nightmares’

Many punters around the world might have had visions of Frankie sunning himself on a California beach, but there was one fellow back in the UK with a long memory – stretching back to the Magnificent Seven.

He placed a £1 six-horse all-to-come bet with Ladbrokes bookmakers and scooped a win of more than £110,000 (about R2.6-million).

“We thought the Frankie Dettori nightmares had ended when he hung up his whip in Britain, but how wrong were we,” said Ladbrokes spokesperson Nicola McGeady.