Cumani: Hong Kong setback was ‘biggest stroke of luck’ for Dettori

‘If he had gone to Hong Kong then we would never have known Frankie as we do now’.

Luca Cumani, the man credited with launching the career of Frankie Dettori, has pinpointed a defining moment for his fellow Italian which he believes was key in helping him reach the top of the tree.

Dettori was just beginning to make a name for himself in the UK having replaced Ray Cochrane as Cumani’s stable jockey.

However, the young rider had decided to accept an offer to ride in Hong Kong at the start of 1993, without consulting Cumani, sending his boss into a tailspin.

“That was a major turning point in my life, in his life and it still causes me great sadness what happened then,” Cumani told OLBG.

Markofdistinction winning the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot for Dettori and Cumani
Markofdistinction winning the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot for Dettori and Cumani (Rebecca Naden/PA)

“He had been riding for a year or two as my number one jockey and in those days, there was no all-weather in the winter and then after the November Handicap, jockeys would disappear off the face of the earth.

“They would go on holiday, go and ride in America, Australia, Hong Kong, wherever. I remember about January or February I was getting calls from the press asking if it was true that Frankie had signed to race in Hong Kong.

“It took me totally by surprise, I said I couldn’t believe it and said he wouldn’t be doing something like that at all. But it carried on, the press ringing up all the time and I kept saying it wasn’t true but I couldn’t get hold of him. We didn’t have mobile phones, I didn’t know where he was.

“Come the middle of February, there is a knock on my door and Frankie walks in with a big grin, we hug, we go and sit down and he says ‘I am going to ride in Hong Kong’. I felt the blood just drain from my body, completely. I couldn’t believe it.”

Cumani went on: “Here was this great talent, who had everything in front of him, being a big-name jockey in Europe and throughout the world in time, was going off to go and ride in what – at the time – was a bit of a backwater racing nation, Hong Kong.

“I tried to dissuade him, we spoke for hours and hours and he was determined and said he was going, and then I lost my cool. I said to him ‘If you don’t change your mind then I will never speak to you again’. I was so angry. So we left on very bad terms.”

However, Dettori never did get to Hong Kong as he had planned, after receiving a caution for possession of a small amount of cocaine.

Cumani believes that course of events was a major turning point in Dettori becoming one of the most famed riders of all time.

He explained: “But then, Frankie has always been a very lucky person. He was lucky to come to England and then he went to an Arsenal game, because he was an Arsenal fan, with some friends and luck – or bad luck – would have it his car got stopped by the police and they found a minute amount of cocaine in the car.

Frankie Dettori performs one his famous flying dismounts
Frankie Dettori performs one his famous flying dismounts (Mike Egerton/PA)

“It hit the news and that got to Hong Kong, and they cancelled his contract straight away. That was the biggest stroke of luck for Frankie. If he had gone to Hong Kong then we would never have known Frankie as we do now.

“Unfortunately, by then we had burned our bridges and so he had to start from scratch again. He got lucky that John Gosden hadn’t been in the country long and didn’t have a jockey at the time, they started linking up and it took off from there and then on to Godolphin and the rest of the story.”

He added: “He and I probably didn’t talk for possibly a year or two and then, one day, he came to see me. He knocked on my door, it was pouring with rain, with a grin he said ‘Can I come in?’ and I said ‘No, you can stay out there and get soaking wet’. It broke the ice and then we started talking again, riding for me on occasions when he was available and we won some big races together, not enough, but big races like the Breeders’ Cup and Japan Cup.”

Frankie Dettori's career is coming to a close
Frankie Dettori’s career is coming to a close (Tim Goode/PA)

Dettori will bring his career to a close at the end of this year, although his former mentor believes he could have carried for a few years yet at the very top.

Cumani said: “I was very disappointed when he announced that he was retiring this year because he has been riding so well. In the spring whenever he was winning a big race I would always text him saying ‘What the hell are you doing retiring? You’re better than ever’ and he would come back and say it was decided. It just made me wonder why? He could have two or three more years. Look at Mike Smith in America, he is 56 and is still riding and is at the top of his game.

“I have tried to persuade him not to retire but I can see why, it comes to all of us and we move on to greener pastures. His last year has been fantastic, I am so glad for him and now I am resigned to the fact he is retiring, so he tells me, so all that is left is to applaud his career.

“Everybody can change their mind, Frankie could, but I think there isn’t a cut-off point where he stops riding altogether. I think when he goes to the States for the Breeders’ Cup, he could stay there for the winter and see how far he goes.”

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