Frankie Dettori: The King Of The Arc

12/03/2023
4 min. read
Frankie Dettori
Steve Mullington
By Steve Mullington

Frankie Dettori recently announced that he will be retiring from the saddle at the end of the 2023 Flat season, but whilst all the talk has been around his remarkable achievements in the UK, it has to be remembered that he is also the winning most rider in the entire history of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, capturing Europe’s greatest race a record-breaking six times during his stellar career.

Dettori's first Arc ride was in 1988, aboard Roushayd, the pacemaker for Kahyasi. Since then, the only time the Arc has taken place without him riding in it has been in 2013 and 2021.

In 2013 he broke his ankle in the week prior to the Arc weekend and was unable to partner Treve - ironically the eventual winner, and in 2021 his intended mount Love became a non-runner the night before the race.

Let’s take a walk down memory lane and revisit all six of Frankie Dettori’s Arc victories.

Lammtarra (1995)

Lammtarra was three from three heading into the 1995 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, with two of those coming in the Derby and the King George, so expectations were high.

Fortunately things went just as smoothly in Paris, with Dettori even having time to look over his shoulder rounding the home turn as he overtook his pacemaker Luso. Once he hit the front he never looked like getting caught.

Sakhee (2001)

Sakhee was sent off the 11/5 favourite for the 2001 renewal on the back of a seven-length win in the Juddmonte at York.

That price was entirely justified for the folks placing their horse racing online bets at home as Dettori on the Godolphin-owned Sakhee, powered away from the field to score by six lengths.

Marienbard (2002)

A horse that ran fifth in the Gold Cup at Ascot and fifth in the Melbourne Cup was speedier than the rest on Europe’s big racing day, and it was enough to give Godolphin and Frankie Dettori their second Arc in succession.

Golden Horn (2015)

In what is regarded as his best ever Arc ride, Dettori started from a difficult wide draw but decided to stay wide, away from the rest of the field for the first two furlongs before dropping in behind Treve’s pacemaker Shahah.

Hitting the front down the home straight, Golden Horn galloped all the way to the line, passing the post clear of the rest and shattering Treve’s dreams of a third victory. 

Enable (2017)

Enable ran in four Arcs, but nothing came close to her pure explosiveness that day when she sprinted away from her pursuers at Chantilly in 2017.

It may not have been Longchamp, but it was still an absolute thrill for Dettori to win aboard the top class filly at the French substitute venue.

Enable (2018)

Separated by a short neck, Enable held off Sea Of Class to become only the seventh dual winner of the Arc.

Dettori who was riding in his 30th Arc that year, needed all the strength he could muster in the saddle as Enable’s lead began to shrink at a rapid rate of knots as another filly, Sea Of Class, chased her down. 

That result gave Dettori his sixth Arc victory and a place in the history books.

If the jumps happen to be be more your scene, then check out all our latest Grand National betting here. 

*Credit for all of the photos in this article belongs to AP Photo*

 

FIRST PUBLISHED: 22nd December 2022

About the Author See all Steve Mullington Articles
Steve Mullington
Steve Mullington

Steven is a sports and horse racing enthusiast and is a member of the Horseracing Writers and Photographers Association (HWPA) in the United Kingdom.

He is a regular visitor to Paris Longchamp for the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe and a lifelong fan of the Aintree Grand National, a subject he writes about 52 weeks of the year. Last year he reached the impressive milestone of attending the last 30 renewals of the Grand National.