Frankie’s the Man
SHORT HEAD JOY IN EBOR FOR DETTORI
IF anyone had thought Frankie Dettori had lost his magic touch, such belief was instantly dismissed after he partnered Trawlerman to victory in the Sky Bet Ebor at York.
With a wide draw that placed Trawlerman virtually in the nearby Tesco car park, Dettori revisited his masterplan that enabled him to win the 2015 Arc de Triomphe on Golden Horn.
Dettori elected to race wide of his rivals, ironically on a son of Golden Horn, before tacking across on the first bend to join his rivals and control the pace.
He briefly lost pole position before knuckling down and getting the better
of Alfred Boucher by a short-head. Earl Of Tyrone did the best of the Irish runners when finishing third, with John Leeper coming home fourth.
“My colleagues gave me a little bit of rope,” said Dettori. “I managed to get him to relax and in the straight I thought I was beaten but the grey horse (Alfred Boucher) came and kind of helped me.
“I thought I was just running out of runway and I might not get there but on the line, in fairness, he dug deep, put his head down and I thought, ‘Ah, close!.’
“In the past, I’ve been close with Lady Aurelia (second in the 2017 Nunthorpe when he thought he had won) so I kept my mouth shut and I waited for the judge.”
In recent months,
Dettori’s commitment and performances on the racecourse have led to speculation that he had lost the plot and his days in the saddle were numbered.
This was supported by his boss John Gosden after numerous defeats, notably on Stradivarius which resulted in losing the ride on the warrior, and as a consequence Dettori was effectively sacked by the Newmarket trainer.
“I could not get his attention – I could not get him to concentrate, that’s all,” said Gosden. “In the end we gave him a bit of a public warning – that’s the way it is.
“He was left on the bench like he would be by a football manager.
“But he has just ridden two fantastic races today (he also won on Kinross) and when our man is in the zone, he is absolutely top class. “When he is not in the zone, he is a menace!” As for the tactics, Gosden, added: “We did it in the Arc and here with Muntahaa under Jim Crowley (who won in 2018), who thought I was mad. I said it was a Baldrick plan that can work.” Dettori, 51, totally dismissed his rollercoaster couple of months. “There had been a bit of bad luck around Royal Ascot but that’s racing, isn’t it?” he said.
He has now clearly regained his mojo and after yesterday’s stellar performances, it would not come as a surprise to see the Italian also back in Stradivarius’s saddle.