FRANKIE’S LAST TANGO IN PARIS
Dettori’s farewell tour continues, but Hukum could steal the show
FRANKIE DETTORI has won the Arc de Triomphe six times... and today he has his eyes fixed on a magnificent seven at Longchamp.
Dettori hangs up his jodhpurs in the next month or so after a stellar career. His final ride in Paris, on John & Thady Gosden-trained Free Wind, has already seen his odds slashed from 66-1 to 16-1.
However, while the circus surrounds the 52-year-old Italian, Owen Burrows’ Hukum is ready to steal Dettori’s thunder.
The six-year-old was the Lambourn trainer’s first Royal Ascot winner when landing the King George V Handicap in June 2020.
And his humbling of Pyledriver in the Group 1 Coronation Cup at Epsom two years later gave Burrows his first victory at the top level.
Today, Hukum contests the Prix de l’arc de Triomphe as the chief British hope for Europe’s middledistance championship – only French-trained Ace Impact sits ahead of him in the betting.
“He ticks a lot of boxes and goes there with a cracking chance,” insists Burrows (below), whose son of Sea The Stars has won his last two forays into Group 1 company.
“He’s got some top threeyear-olds to contend with –
Ace Impact could be a bit of a freak – but Hukum has got the strongest form.”
A leg injury at Epsom stalled Hukum’s career but Sheikha Hissa, curator of the Shadwell racing and breeding empire since the passing in March 2021 of her father, Sheikh Hamdan, opted to keep the Sea The Stars entire in training.
“It happened on the Friday,” recalls Burrows. “I spoke to her on the phone on Monday evening and
she felt he still had some unfinished business.
“We felt he was improving and her decision to continue racing him has been vindicated, because he has raised the bar again.”
Hukum returned from an enforced 356-day absence to stun 2002 Derby hero Desert Crown in the Group 3 Brigadier Gerard Stakes at Sandown Park in May. Fast ground prompted the bay’s late withdrawal from the Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot in June but he returned to Berkshire to win the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes five weeks later.
This season will be Hukum’s last on the racecourse before he joins Shadwell’s stallion team.
“I owe him a huge amount,” said Burrows.
“It’s going to be hard to find a replacement, I know that much.”