Frankie Dettori hints at retirement doubts after signing Juddmonte International for the sixth time at Mostahdaf… as coach John Gosden admits: ‘Maybe he’ll be back next year, you never know!
- Frankie Dettori scored another victory on his farewell tour with Mostahdaf
- The 3-1 second favorite beat stablemate Nashwa in Juddmonte International
- There are now ‘seven weeks and three days’ to go before Dettori stops driving
The last leg of Frankie Dettori’s farewell tour had just concluded with another trophy glittering when his old ally said something that made you think.
From Newmarket to Epsom, Ascot to Deauville, Dettori has spent the summer cleaning up the biggest races and he did so again at York, beating heavy favorite Paddington to land the Juddmonte International at Mostahdaf in a rather brilliant ride.
John Gosden, who trains Mostahdaf with his son Thady, knows better than anyone how deadly Dettori can be when he gets into the lead and this was a masterclass in deception, picking up the pace and tricking his three pursuers into thinking they were just a chance to take the lead. leave again when it matters.
Dettori informed everyone that there are now ‘seven weeks and three days’ to go before he retires from riding in Britain and many will tell you that he is at peace with his decision to retire. However, there is something about all this that makes you wonder if any doubts are creeping in.
During a lavish debrief after his record-breaking sixth victory in this match, Dettori joked that he was counting down to the end “unless someone wants to give me a commission next year!”
Frankie Dettori scored another victory on his farewell tour with Mostahdaf in York
Dettori won the Juddmonte International at the York Ebor festival for the sixth time
You would have put that down to his natural exuberance, but then Gosden said, in tribute: ‘He’s the only man who can go to Longchamp, set the pace and let the Frenchman do what he wants. He would be seen as a genius in any sport.
“He can go to any track in the world and, like a chameleon, adapt to the racing style. He is a great jockey and we will miss him. He now wins many of the top races… you never know! Maybe he will come back next year, you never know! He’s definitely enjoying his last big year.”
Son of the boastful 2012 Juddmonte winner Frankel, Mostahdaf bounced from the boxes and turned every post into a winning post.
“There was only one way to beat Paddington and that was to be in front of him,” said Dettori. “Had he been ahead and carried seven pounds less than the three-year champion, it would have been very difficult to pass him. I got into a nice pace and thought, “Okay… come and see me!”’.
But they couldn’t catch him. She never succeeded when he drives like this.