Golden Horn stands out for Cochrane as a special Dettori memory
‘Magnificent Seven’ will never be forgotten, either.
Frankie Dettori’s long-time friend and former agent Ray Cochrane rates Golden Horn’s 2015 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe victory as one of the Italian’s finest moments in the saddle. Dettori will bring the curtain down on his European career at Ascot on Saturday, with the rider having last week officially abandoned his plan to retire from the saddle in favour of a move to America in the new year following a series high-profile international engagements before the end of 2023. While Champions Day does not put a full stop on his riding career, Dettori’s final afternoon at Ascot promises to be an emotional affair with many of the jockey’s career highlights having taken place at the Berkshire venue. He memorably went through the seven-race card at the track in September 1996, while his Royal Ascot victories are too numerous to mention, with Courage Mon Ami’s Gold Cup triumph back in June raising the roof.
However, Cochrane, who was Dettori’s agent for 20 years, felt the rider’s renewed association with trainer John Gosden in 2015 provided the most sparkling of moments as he really kicked off what was to be a glorious autumn of his career. Cochrane told Betdaq: “We had an unbelievable time, with the big winners he rode, but the one that sticks out is Golden Horn. “He rang me when I was skiing in Switzerland and said, ‘William Buick has gone to Godolphin’. Immediately I said, ‘Have you rung John Gosden?’, and he said, ‘No’, but I could hear him laughing and then he said, ‘I didn’t need to ring him, he rang me’. I remember saying, ‘Get in there!’. At the time, when Frankie had no job, this was like someone putting a big arm around him. “He started riding well for John and he rang me one spring morning, and said, ‘Ray, we’ve got one’, but he couldn’t remember his name! I kept asking what his name was and a week later he told me it was a horse called Golden Horn.
Frankie’s greatest ever ride? Golden Horn’s Arc was something very special! pic.twitter.com/dsKx9zK6kE
— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) September 28, 2023


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