Sporting Index ambassador Frankie Dettori says he really want to win the 2023 July Cup to complete the set of British Group Ones before he retires.
Talking in his Sporting Index column about the decision to retire at the end of 2023, the 52-year-old says he'll try to enjoy every moment he has left in the saddle, but is particularly keen to aim for a win in Newmarket's big sprint at the height of next summer.
Heart wants to carry on
"I was a little bit sad this morning as everything continues to sink it, but I’ve made my decision.
"I started thinking about making plans for my retirement about a month ago. It was coming up to my 52nd birthday, and I thought if I do have one more year, I’ll be 53, and I said to myself, I’m lucky to have got this far and it all has to end at some point. My heart wants to carry on, but after weighing up all the situations, going out at 53 in one piece seems the right thing to do.
"I thought it would be best to give everyone, including myself, a final year to enjoy it and be able to give all the fans one last goodbye."
July Cup dreams
"The July Cup is obviously one of the top targets again next season, as that’s the only Group 1 I haven’t won in England, but every step I take next year is going to be emotional and important, starting with the Guineas.
All I want to do is give it my very best in my last year and enjoy it as much as possible. At the moment, I’m just thinking of going to as many places as I can, including the smaller tracks which I might not have been to in a while, and trying to win some of the big races."
Weighing room will be missed
"The thing I think I’ll miss most about racing is the weighing room.
"It’s a timeless place, and that’s probably why you feel like you can go on for so long as a jockey. I’ll be walking in there as a 52-year-old now, but you can still feel like you’re 16 – it’s a place where everyone feels the same age.
"I’ve spent half of my life in there, so I will miss it a lot."
Ready for US, and maybe TV in 2024
"Once 2023 is done, then I’ll have to take a bit of time to come to terms with the fact that I’ll have finally stopped, re-group and then see what opportunities are out there.
"The transition to working on TV is the way that I’m thinking, but I haven’t put my 100 percent thought into that yet, as I want to focus on doing 2023 well first.
"For now, I’m fit and ready to go to California on Thursday. That will be the start of the end and I’m going to put everything into it."
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