Frankie Dettori bids farewell to Epsom

Frankie Dettori bid farewell to Epsom Downs after making his final visit to Epsom Downs on Saturday.

Jockey : Frankie Dettori.
Jockey : Frankie Dettori.

Unfortunately for the Italian-born jockey, Arrest's performance in the Epsom Derby did not offer the fairytale ending many had hoped.

Impressive on soft ground when winning the Group 3 Chester Vase in May, the Gosden trained three-year-old struggled on the quickening summer ground.

It was Frankie Dettori's 29th and final ride in the Epsom Derby with two previous victories to his name – Authorized (2007) and Golden Horn (2015).

He boasts a better record in the Oaks with winners including Enable (2017), Anapurna (2019), Snowfall (2021) and Soul Sister on Friday.

Dettori quickly gained compensation 40 minutes after the Derby with a victory in the Group 3 Queen Elizabeth Stakes on the Ralph Beckett-trained Prosperous Voyage. He confirmed it was to be his final ride at Epsom.

He said: "Yeah, that's it, me and Epsom are done. The last one and we won!

"Arrest got very warm beforehand. We jumped good, we had a good slot but from the four [furlong pole] I was in trouble.

He was climbing and was finding the downhill from Tattenham Corner very difficult. He took me into the straight and his legs were going everywhere. It was a combination of the left-hand track, downhill and the ground drying up. It is what it is.

"I've never ridden him before on this ground, but there we are.

John Gosden, who trained both of Dettori's Group One victories on Friday, was far from disappointed with Arrest and said: "Not this track, on that ground. The ground was too quick.

He had a leg in every county and Frankie knew he was in trouble halfway down the hill.

"We will freshen him up and see where we will want to go. The track on this ground – when you have that good to firm in there, you are in trouble.

"We anticipated it when we were going home last night. Take nothing from the winner. I don't think anything would have beaten him on any ground and the second [King Of Steel] has run a blinder.

"It was a brilliant achievement [from Aidan O'Brien] to get the winner back after Newmarket, because obviously something went wrong there.

"It is a superb achievement. He had the class to win and he had a hell of a target to get to in King Of Steel. It was some race – two proper horses.

"It wasn't the fairytale for Frankie, and the great thing was he couldn't have done a Lester [Piggott] and got on either of them, because they are both retained rides, the first and second. So, to that extent I think we are all right.

"He has been brilliant. He has had a great meeting and he knew straightaway this horse was in trouble.

He didn't knock him about. They backed him down to favourite because of the Frankie factor and the bookies clipping it, and that was a bit silly, because he was never a 4-1 favourite.

"But it was a proper race. The horse sweated up beforehand, but that is his nature. We will freshen him up and see where we go. He is in at Royal Ascot. The horse will tell us over the next week or 10 days.

He doesn't need the ground like he had at Chester, but he does like to get his toe in."


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