Go, Frankie Dettori!

“I haven’t flew in light aircraft since. You know, one day I’ll do it, but I’m not brave enough yet.”

But he is willing to fly in a helicopter. “Yes I haven’t crashed one yet. I’ve crashed everything else…”

Frankie’s schedule during Ascot sounds gruelling. “Well it’s six races a day for five days, so that’s 30. I think I’m missing about five, so I’ll do 25 or 26 out of 30.”

Physically how difficult is such a workload on the jockeys? “We are fit, so it’s more of a mental drain, if you know what I mean. Every race is a championship race, so six championship races a day.

"Normally you get one every two weeks, but with this you get six a day for five days in row. It is pretty demanding on the brain. It is like the Olympics, you know.

"People’s expectations, your expectations, trainers, owners, public, TV viewers, the Queen... It doesn’t get any bigger than this. We work hard for this.

“Tomorrow I’ll get up and study the paper. I’ll do an hour in the gym and then get ready; put on my top hat and tails. I’ll be there for one o’clock. Soak in the atmosphere, get changed for first race at two-thirty.”

What does Frankie do when he is not racing?

“Nothing! When I’m nothing racing I enjoy sitting on the couch and watch TV. And I enjoy golf and being with the kids. The kids are getting older now. They’re great. And then there is his television work: something that Frankie puts on the back-burner during the height of the racing season. In the Autumn some TV. Now it’s very busy and very hard to find the time, but in the Autumn... Basically [for racing], June, July, August, September are busy. October as well. Then it eases off, so November and December is when I put my TV hat on.”

Interview: Angela Banh
Story: Rick Cadger
Photography: Stan Thompson

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