Dettori ready to end Derby hurt
The irritating itch that failure to win the Vodafone Derby has become for Frankie Dettori could be about to disappear.
After scratching around for years in search of a Classic cure, Dettori’s soothing balm looks to have arrived for his 15th attempt on the Epsom showpiece in the form of Authorize.
Peter Chapple-Hyam’s colt could be odds-on when the stalls open on Saturday for the 228th running of racing’s most coveted prize after a superlative four-length victory in the Dante Stakes at York, easily the most impressive Derby trial.
And that has the excitement bubbling around the 36-year-old Italian like a couple of glasses of Frascati.
He has acknowledged the Derby is “the one glaring omission from my CV”, and he is ultra keen to put that right.
At a specially arranged press conference at his home track of Newmarket, the three-times champion jockey revealed his thoughts about his “big project”.
“I would be stupid to say I’m not excited. Every shop or taxi I go into people are wishing me well,” he said.
“Nothing would give me more pleasure than to say I have won every major race in my adopted country.”
When reminded that it took the great Sir Gordon Richards 28 attempts before he achieved his ambition to win the Derby at the age of 49, Dettori said: “To win the Derby would fulfil all my dreams. I am 36 now and the years are running away from me. I have 10 more years definitely to achieve my aim. I just hope it doesn’t take me as long as Sir Gordon.”
Before Dettori arrives at Epsom he will have to prove his fitness, however, after injuring his right knee in a fall at Goodwood on Friday.
He rode a winner in the following race, but he could not ride at Haydock on Saturday and opted to have physiotherapy at home, including acupuncture, ultra sound and a packet of frozen petit pois on his knee while watching television.
He said: “I was still in pain this morning but I rang Peter (Chapple-Hyam) to ride Authorize. I was really eager to sit on the horse. He said ’was I sure’ and I said ’yes’.
“I felt good enough to do a piece of work.
“In fact, I felt more discomfort sitting or trotting on the horse than in the riding position. The horse travelled extremely well. I was very satisfied because he’s not the best work horse.”
The closest Dettori has come to winning racing’s most coveted prize was on the John Gosden-trained Tamure in 1995 when the pair took the lead 100 yards out, only to be caught 20 yards from the post by the flying Lammtarra, ridden by Walter Swinburn.
Until this past week, Dettori has never woken on the morning of the race thinking he was definitely going to win it, nor had sleepless nights worrying about achieving his life’s major goal.
“All the horses I have ridden in the Derby have had question marks over them, but Authorize is pretty special. He is the best ride I’ve had and the Dante win was as good as any horse in the past.
“He travels well (in his races), is light on his feet and all the vibes are that he will handle Epsom. I would be as confident as anybody that he will be OK.”
But there could have been a stumbling block to Dettori wiping out the memory of 15 years in the Derby wilderness – his boss Sheikh Mohammed. If he intended to have a fancied runner at Epsom, Dettori would have had to ride.
But the Godolphin entries were not up to scratch and the Sheikh gave the jockey the all-clear to ride Authorize.
Word arrived while Dettori was driving to Newbury races the day after the Dante victory and as soon as Dettori put the phone down he screamed in delight – and screamed again.
With an army of Derby punters on his side, similar screams could well be heard in the Derby winner’s enclosure at the weekend.
His wife Catherine will not be there to watch, superstition keeping her at home with their five children. But dad Gianfranco will be flying in from Italy.
