Frankie Dettori today said that he might well put off his retirement so that he can compete against his son
Rocco Blackbook.com.au reports today.
Although Frankie initially didn’t want his son to pursue a career in horse racing. He now appreciates that it may
well give him an opportunity to race against his son. The legendary jockey has had a career that has spanned the
last thirty two year and has featured a number of memorable wins, including twice winning the Derby and three
times winning the Jockey’s championship.
Despite his concerns as a parent, which initially saw him not wanting his son to follow in his footsteps, he has revealed that to ride against the now fourteen-year-old Rocco would be a fantastic ambition to realize. This is particularly true for him as he was able to do the same with his Classic-winning father, Gianfranco.
Speaking to the racingpost.com Dettori said “I rode with my dad and it was an amazing experience, and I’m very proud that I did it. If [Rocco] wants to do it, it’s an amazing ambition of mine to be able to ride with him. He can tell his children that we did it. Obviously, as a parent, I really don’t want him to do it but as a sportsman or as a way of life, if you love it, then it’s really amazing. He seems to have the right physique, and if he wants to pursue this sport, I’m going to try to help him. It’s up to him. He’s only 14. I didn’t want him to do it [as] it’s a job that has sacrifices and ridiculous hours. At the moment he seems very keen, but when you’re a teenager, you can change from week to week.”
Dettori is a father of five, but puts his inspiration down to his father and that he owes him for his star-studded career. This week’s Derby festival marks the twenty-fifth anniversary since his first of seventeen classic British victories. The first being in the 1994 Oaks. He also counts two Derby wins the first with Authorized in 2007 and the most recent in 2015 with Golden Horn.
He has different reasons on why he values both wins, the first mainly because his father Gianfranco was present at Epsom to witness it. A win that they had both talked about for years. “He had this beautiful white gold watch that he used to pull out of the safe once a year when he went to the gala dinner, and he used to dangle it in my face. He would say, “One year when you win the Epsom Derby I’m going to give it to you.” Anyway, true to his word he brought the watch with him and he gave it to me. It meant a lot.”
However, he feels that the subsequent win to be the more memorable of the two, he stated that he knew he was going to win the race as soon as Golden Horn hit the front of the pack.
