Frankie Dettori misses out on record fifth World Cup win in Dubai but leads Lord North to special consolation prize with victory on Dubai Turf for the third consecutive season.
- Frankie Dettori missed a record fifth World Cup victory in Dubai
- Dettori took a special victory at Dubai Turf for the third consecutive season
- The 52-year-old rode Lord North to win as his farewell season continues.
Frankie Dettori missed out on a record fifth World Cup victory in Dubai, but there was a valuable consolation prize in his farewell appearance at the meeting: victory for the third year in a row on Dubai Turf at Lord North.
Dettori’s $12 million World Cup mount, 2022 winner Country Grammer, was a spent force who turned in down the stretch after expending too much energy in the early stages trying to deny a wide and difficult draw.
Dettori, 52, who will retire at the end of the year, was finally a bystander as Japan’s Ushba Tesoro put on a withering run for the £6m top prize.
It was a different story for Dettori on Lord North, trained by John and Thady Gosden, who rode sweetly on Dubai Turf before being slotted into the lead inside a furlong.
Frankie Dettori missed a record fifth World Cup win in Dubai but won the Dubai Turf at Lord North
Dettori dropped his whip, but Lord North still ran out a three-quarter-length winner of the £2.6m top prize.
On an emotional day at Meydan Racecourse, Dettori said: “I came in with some decent rides and just getting one on the board in this beautiful place that has been my home for so many winters is really special.”
‘It’s my farewell season and it’s a remarkable job on the team’s part to get this horse back and win this race for the third time. I was so sure I lost my whip 300 (yards) out.
Dettori, 52, to retire at the end of the year called Maydan a special place