The jockey’s five world championship career rides include Inspiral in the Filly and Mare Turf and King of Steel in a Breeders’ Cup Turf that could top the main event, the $6 million Classic, where he rode Zandon, a live outsider. for Chad Brown.
When Dettori announced that he was not ready for retirement this month and that he would try to extend his career by basing himself at Santa Anita, he gave it anywhere between three months and three years, but his commitment to re-establishing himself seems longer-term.
For example, he needs to look no further than California-based Mike ‘Big Money’ Smith, who is 57 years old and still going strong. America loves an extroverted showman; it also loves a great jockey, so it is not surprising that the 52-year-old Dettori will flourish in a few years based on the self-called “great race place,” that is, except for 12 months. Summer has the added benefit of three days of racing a week and little or no travel.
But what do the locals think of his chances of success? One said that he had already ridden rings around American Turf jockeys, and the fact that he rode Zandon suggests that Brown did not consider him too dirty in the dirt. Zandon may be a 20-1 shot, but the pace of the race will be good for the four-year-old, who likes to come from behind.
Speaking about his other top rides of the weekend, Dettori said Inspiral felt good in his first attempt at a mile and a quarter. “He felt good on the track,” he said. “He’s busy, but that’s who he is. It was a good call of a mile and a quarter against his sex. Mile is very dependent here. ”
He said that he was still disgusted by King of Steel’s victory at Ascot. “You can’t write that script. I’ve been riding at Ascot for over 30 years, and I’ve never heard a scream like this—it took the roof off. I’m not sure about turf. He (King of Steel) should fight hard and have a tough race, but he weighs 570kg, he has a lot of meat on him, and I’m sure Roger (Varian) won’t take him without him thinking that he recovered. And we will be up against the Derby winner (Auguste Rodin) again; that will be interesting.
