‘Dettori remains a great rider’
DESPITE his split from John Gosden, Frankie Dettori will have no problem finding support, according to trainers Hugo Palmer and Roger Varian – with Aidan O’Brien also voicing his admiration for the rider.
The ever-popular Italian provided the perfect riposte to critics who have doubted his ability in recent weeks with a peach of a ride on his only mount of the day at Newmarket on Saturday, booting Lezoo to victory in the Listed Maureen Brittain Memorial Empress Fillies’ Stakes.
Following a few high-profile defeats at Epsom and Royal Ascot, Gosden and Dettori paused their long-standing partnership with a brief statement on Friday.
Though the Clarehaven Stables handler, who shares a licence with son Thady, stated the duo were “taking a sabbatical”, Dettori will now plough his own furrow.
O’Brien has turned to Dettori in recent years when fielding multiple contenders in big races, with the rider picking up some handy spares after retained jockey Ryan Moore has made his selection.
The relationship has yielded highprofile success, with Dettori taking St Mark’s Basilica to Dewhurst success in 2020, while the duo also enjoyed double Classic success last year via Mother Earth in the 1000 Guineas and Snowfall in the Oaks.
O’Brien said: “He’s a great rider, always was and still is. Anytime we could get him, we were privileged to have him. When Frankie is available, we always feel privileged that he rides for us.”
Palmer, who was in attendance at Newmarket to saddle Ever Given in the Group Three Criterion Stakes, feels the 51-year-old rider will not lack for opportunities, despite taking just 88 mounts in Britain in 2022, with all but 15 for Gosden’s team.
Palmer, who teamed up with Dettori in 2016 to win both the 2000 Guineas and St James’s Palace Stakes with Galileo Gold, said: “I have already offered him a ride, but he is going to be in America.
“He is not just a great jockey – Frankie is the only jockey alive today who can claim to be the greatest of all time. (Lester) Piggott is dead, (Fred) Archer is dead, (Sir Gordon) Richards is dead. None of the rest of them – look at Frankie’s Group One record compared to any other rider alive. It is extraordinary.
“Frankie picks and chooses his rides. While James Doyle is my number one pick, so it would be in the absence of James, but 100 per cent, we will support him if we had the right horse and he was available.”
Newmarket handler Varian is also adamant Dettori will remain a popular choice if the right horse became available.
“He has ridden big winners for us in the past and I’m sure he will ride for us again,” said Varian.