Golden Horn sounds Dettori clarion call

“When I won the ‘Magnificent Seven’ at Ascot all those years ago in 1996, it was like a three-hour joy,” said Dettori, whose colourful career was fading into obscurity before being reignited this year by his great mentor John Gosden and the unexpected chance to ride a horse of a lifetime on Flat racing’s greatest stages.

“This year was the best thrill I have ever had in all my career. If I could pick one single race in my life, it would be the Epsom Derby this year. Why? I didn’t think I would get another chance to ride a horse like this. For the past three years, I didn’t ride in the Derby. There was my split with Godolphin. Now I was back. That moment passing the line, I can’t describe it. I keep playing it back. It will never leave me.”

Racing’s showman could not be more relaxed – or candid – as he spoke exclusively to The Yorkshire Post ahead of next week’s Welcome to Yorkshire Ebor Festival when Golden Horn will, arguably, face the toughest test of his career in the £850,000 Juddmonte International, the most valuable race ever to be staged in the county.

He is “bonding” with his two sons on a family holiday in Sardinia. “Leo is nearly 16 and he is taller than me and bigger than me. He plays polo. The little fella Rocco is 10 and quite small and rides ponies. There’s a chance he could be a jockey. He’s only 10. At least he’s learned to ride. It’s a start! It’s up to him when he’s older,” says Dettori, whose father Gianfranco won the 1976 International on Wollow.

“My three girls all ride as well – but it is a male-dominated sport. It’s good to be with them.”

The laughter in the background suggest that the Dettori brood have caught their father’s infectious enthusiasm that has been rekindled by his renewed acquaintance with Gosden, the trainer who was so instrumental to the rider’s success in his formative years, and top thoroughbreds of Golden Horn’s calibre.

“I didn’t see this coming at the beginning of the season,” said the 44-year-old, who was the beneficiary of his protégé William Buick’s decision to leave the Gosden stable at the end of the last year and join Sheikh Mohammed’s Godolphin empire which was synonymous with Dettori until a parting of the ways in 2012.

“From the Feilden, to the Dante, to the Derby , to the Eclipse, Golden Horn has progressed every step of the way. He has been a very good horse to be around. In fact, he was the very horse that I rode when I started back at John’s. If you’d said I’d win the Derby on this horse, I wouldn’t have believed you.

“He was a very raw talent. When I say raw, he was very raw. He didn’t have a clue. He was doing everything with ease but he needed to learn how to settle behind other horses, how to quicken... it was like a child going for a first day at school. He didn’t know what was going on.

“I knew the horse was good, but this was only March. I didn’t know how far he had got to go. When we got to the Dante, I couldn’t separate Golden Horn and his stablemate Jack Hobbs. It was clear when they passed the post. I didn’t have to say anything to William (Buick) after he past the post on Golden Horn – this was the one – and the Derby confirmed this when these were the first two home.

“My biggest concern at Epsom was getting to the start. In the Spring, I could feel he had a bit of a bad mouth and I mentioned this to John in passing. It was then discovered that the horse had a fractured tooth and was in discomfort. Even though it was treated, he was still running as if he had a sore mouth. It took him to understand and I didn’t want to use up too much energy. It’s a long way to the start, a mile-and-a-half, and we could have lost the race before it had started.

“When I got to the start, and the horse relaxed, I was happy. He didn’t miss a beat in the race – I was in dreamland – and it was the biggest thrill of my life.

“It meant far more than my first Derby on Authorized in 2007 because I didn’t think it would happen again, I’d been written off and came close to giving up myself, and I wanted to enjoy it.”

Having confirmed his status as Europe’s best three-year-old middle-distance horse, Golden Horn showed his superiority in last month’s Coral-Eclipse when beating older horses, like Hambleton trainer Kevin Ryan’s The Grey Gatsby, with ease.

After torrential rain saw Golden Horn withdrawn from Ascot’s King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, the Juddmonte International became the obvious target for the Sir Anthony Oppenheimer-owned champion. “I still think he is improving,” said Dettori.

“The horse is in good shape and has won at York before. It’s a great line-up with a dual guineas winner in Gleneagles, The Grey Gatsby, Time Test who I rode to victory at Royal Ascot and the Australian horse Criterion.

“It’s an absolute cracker, possibly the race of the year. You’ve got all the best horses racing each other. York is very slick, very flat. You need a horse with pace and gears. If you’ve got any chinks in your armour, you’ll be found out. The races are won with the revs up and at a high tempo. Golden Horn will have to be at his best.”

Talking to Dettori, it is clear that he has Gosden to thank for rediscovering his ‘mojo’.

This, after all, is the trainer who helped Dettori come to terms with a drugs misdemeanour during his early career – and who never lost faith in the rider when he was banned for six months in 2012 for failing a drugs test.

For, while Dettori’s retainer with Qatar Racing allows him to ride for many of the top trainers, it is the day-to-day rapport with Gosden that has been instrumental to his revival.

“John 20 years ago, he was my father figure. Now he’s more than a friend. We understand each other,” explained the jockey.

“He’s got a great way of dealing with the staff. That’s a big plus. There’s his attention to detail and he’s a great horseman. He can train any horse... two-year-old colts, fillies, sprinters, stayers. He can train anything, I’m still learning from him at my age. When you are around him, you pick up little things that others don’t do.”

Three years ago, Dettori said he put on an act when he celebrated his Betfred Ebor win aboard Willing Foe by replicating the poses of Olympic heroes Usain Bolt and Mo Farah from the saddle before his trademark flying dismount. He says he was not happy, but did not want to disappoint his fans. It could easily have been the jockey’s last big race win at York. Now he talks about riding beyond his 50th birthday in just under six years time.

“Fifty is just a number,” adds Dettori. “You are going to have me around for at least five years. All the big races I’ve won down the years, I’d like to win again.

“You saw for two or three years at Godolphin I wasn’t wanted. I thought that was it. Now I work with people who appreciate what I give. I’m very proud of what has happened this year and have given myself a pat on the back, but I hope it’s not over...”