Frankie Dettori gets his chance to break Melbourne Cup curse with Almandin
IT’S a race Frankie Dettori is determined to win, but the Melbourne Cup has been unkind to one of the world’s most distinguished riders, but it’s an anomaly that can be corrected this year.
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IF there is a living racing certainty apart from Winx, the closest thing is Frankie Dettori’s penchant for uncovering nocturnal delights.
Now one of the world’s most distinguished riders, Dettori was already firmly established in the mid-1990s when he chanced into Crown casino.
There he met owner Lloyd Williams, whose company Hudson Conway had created the swanky Southbank establishment, and his son Nick.
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They quickly learned Dettori — off a racecourse — knows only one pace. Flat out.
In their separate way, and from a world at once removed from and linked to Dettori’s whirlwind lifestyle, the more conservative Williams pair liked what they saw.
“He’s a lovely boy but much easier to control during the day than at night,” Lloyd Williams mused.
“He’s been a close friend for a long time now and, I think, the best rider in the world.”
Despite the mutual admiration — Dettori counts Lloyd Williams as a mentor — the Italian had never ridden for the Williams until last year’s Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.
That anomaly will be corrected again in the Melbourne Cup when Dettori is aboard 2016 winner Almandin.
All three men harbour soaring expectations.
“It is a massive thrill to win the Melbourne Cup at any time,” said Lloyd Williams, owner of a record five Cup winners.
“But to possibly do it with Frankie Dettori would be tremendous.”
It is a similar tale for Nick Williams.
“I met Frankie 21 years ago, so we go back a long way,” he said.
“He’s only ever ridden one horse for us and he got beaten on it. Probably nobody could have finished an inch closer. It was one of the great rides you’ve ever seen and that was on Order Of St George in the Arc last year.
“From the outside gate, he rode it like Golden Horn.
“Unfortunately, the horse wasn’t quite Golden Horn. If it was, he would have won.
“We’re really thrilled to have him on. He’s a great friend and he’s the best jockey in the world.
“It’s not a bad start.”
Nick chuckles when reflecting on meeting Dettori.
“We developed the Crown casino and it seems to be the epicentre of after-dark activity in Melbourne,” he said.
“We’d actually just opened it and Frankie had come down. If there’s anything happening after dark, it doesn’t take Frankie long to find it.
“That’s how we hooked up and he hasn’t skipped a beat since. He’s a great man. He’s very excited to be coming down to ride in this race.
“Frankie’s married to an Australian girl and he openly stated that winning the Melbourne Cup is one of the biggest objectives he has left.
“I don’t know if that was directed at us to get a ride.”
To date, Dettori has been blighted by a combination of circumstance, some of it self-destructive.
Two years ago, he was the author of late-race mayhem which either, directly or indirectly, ruined the chances of several runners.
He was given a month ban and a $20,000 fine.
Last year, he partnered Wicklow Brave on a ride best described as adventurous.
This season, Dettori has returned to a performance acme most thought lost when he almost quit in 2013.
Struggling to come to terms with a six-month suspension after being found guilty of using a prohibited substance, believed to be cocaine, Dettori was on his knees.
“I was weeks away from actually retiring,” he told British media.
“I couldn’t see anything coming up. I didn’t expect it would be so hard to fit back in but it was hard.
“If it wasn’t for Sheik Joaan (Al Thani), who gave me the lifeline, I would have packed up at the end of that season.
“I couldn’t get any rides. It was frustrating and I would have had no choice but to focus on something else.
“It’s amazing how it turned round. I’m very lucky. One Derby, a King George and two Arcs later … It’s not bad, is it?”
Enable’s victory in the Arc gave Dettori his fifth success in the race, proof of his enduring excellence.
“It’s amazing. As a kid, just to ride in the Arc was an achievement. To be the first to win five, brilliant,” he said.
“I guess Lester’s (Piggott’s) nine Derbys is a bit too far out of my reach.”
Due to arrive in Melbourne today after the Breeders Cup meeting at Del Mar, California, Dettori has frequently spoken of the importance of the Melbourne Cup to his family.
This time, he’s praying things will be different.
If so, there will probably be no bigger party at Southbank than Dettori’s.
Originally published as Frankie Dettori gets his chance to break Melbourne Cup curse with Almandin