‘Extraordinary athlete’ Dettori is Gosden’s Royal Ascot banker
‘You save him for the big occasions’.
John Gosden has hailed Frankie Dettori as an “extraordinary athlete” as the pair once again seek to take Royal Ascot by storm. Since reuniting in 2015, Gosden and Dettori have enjoyed countless big-race successes, with many coming during the Italian’s favourite meeting of the season. Dettori has been leading rider at the festival seven times, including the last two years – and despite turning 50 recently, he shows no signs of slowing down. He is, however, far more circumspect in what he chooses to ride – and while he had just 15 winners this season before Friday’s racing, they include the 1000 Guineas on Mother Earth, the Oaks on Snowfall, the Lockinge on Palace Pier and the Chester Cup on Falcon Eight.“He goes into the weighing room late in the season telling the others he still hasn’t had 100 rides in the season, while the others have been up and down the A1, just to wind them up,” said Gosden. “I did warn him this morning taking a full book of rides a couple of days running that we’d have to take the oxygen mask! “He’s an extraordinary athlete. When he came to me at the beginning (of his career) he’d reached a crossroads in his life when he got in a bit of a muddle. “He rode flat out for three years for me. He’d have 50 winners knocked up before the season started, just on the all-weather, then he’d ride 220 winners a year – he proved he had a work ethic.
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