Dettori tells rivals: Don’t write me off!

FRANKIE DETTORI has warned Order of St George, his 28th ride in the Qatar Prix de L’Arc de Triomphe this afternoon, should not be underestimated despite his shock defeat in the Irish Leger last month.

The reverse at odds of 1-7 at the hands of Dettori-ridden Wicklow Brave ended a six-race winning sequence for Aidan O’Brien’s colt, which was an impressive winner of the two-anda-half-mile Gold Cup at Royal Ascot in June.

Dettori said: ‘I’m delighted to get the ride — I wanted to carry on the tradition.

‘I have ridden in every Arc since I was 17, apart from when I broke my leg. It is a special race — I have won it four times.

‘He was different class in the Gold Cup and, if he had not been beaten in the Irish Leger, he would have been one of the first three in the betting.’

Order of St George is one of three O’Brien runners in the Arc. The Irish trainer’s No1 jockey Ryan Moore rides Found, ninth in the race last year behind Dettori-ridden Golden Horn.

Roger Varian-trained Postponed, winner of both the Coronation Cup and International Stakes this summer, is the 7-4 favourite. The only other British runner in the race is The Grey Gatsby.

In a race dominated by three-year-olds this century, Epsom Derby winner Harzand and Makahiki, the winner of Japan’s Derby, are serious contenders.