Dettori reveals heartbreak over Italy’s battle with virus
● Jockey fears for family in homeland
Italian Frankie Dettori has spoken of his anguish at the coronavirus situation back in his homeland.
With an elderly mother still in Italy, a country which has recorded more than 10,000 deaths from Covid-19, the former champion jockey has described his concern.
“She’s had pneumonia in the past so she has to be really careful, because if she takes to this virus she may not make it through, so I’m a bit concerned about her,” Dettori said on The Guest List ,ABBC 5 Live Sports Special.
“Dad goes to Morocco in the winter, so he’s in lockdown – he’s 79. So I’ve got parents that have to be careful. It’s a worry for everyone, it’s touched everybody’s lives.”
Like so many others, all Dettori can do is keep in touch and watch events from afar.
“If you picture all those coffins in a field and imagine how big that field would be it’s heart-breaking,” he added.
“It seems endless, and every day we hope that you can read something better, but it doesn’t look like it’s letting up. Having friends and family in Italy is a concern.
“Luckily, at the moment, touch wood, most of my family are fine – but it’s been three weeks, and they haven’t left the house. A lot of properties in Milan you live in are flats, and a lot of people are kind of confined in their own little prison.
“The mood of the people is good – but it’s getting a bit frustrating because it seems like every day it’s getting worse and worse. We haven’t seen it get any better. We are just praying day by day.”
Dettori, who has set up a Gofundme page to raise money for the Italian Red Cross, is still riding out in Newmarket but admits the prospect of a quick return to action in British racing seems a long way off.
He added: “At the moment we’re still in a dark tunnel, we don’t know when we’re going to start. “