Globe-trotting jockey Frankie Dettori will ride through until the end of 2023 before making a call on retirement.
Dettori was hugely popular with the punters and media at Rosehill and Randwick last Saturday and on Melbourne Cup Day despite again failing to find his form best Down Under.
Frankie Dettori might only be back in Sydney one final time.Credit:Getty Images
For those wondering, Dettori, 51, stayed at the flashy InterContinental Hotel in Double Bay and flew in and out of Sydney at the pointy end of the plane.
But he also made a point of drinking instant coffee, posing for countless photos in the public area, and sitting on bean bags with the younger riders in the jockeys’ room.
Speaking of the Cup and never winning it, Dettori told The Mail: “I’m competitive, I’d like to win it. It’s missing from my CV. I won’t throw myself off a building, but it would be nice if I can win it.”
As for riding on beyond next year, Dettori said: “I’ll definitely do next year, then after that I don’t know. I’ll go one year at a time. I’m racing against kids who are 30 years younger than me. Even if I’ve got more experience than them, physically they are stronger than me. I want to finish when I’m on the top, not at the bottom.”
A career in TV looms given that Dettori admits he doesn’t have the patience to be a trainer.
He added that James McDonald was “amazing, someone on top of his game and a world-class jockey”, but it was unfair to single him out as the hottest hoop on the planet right now.
Group 1 winner to Gundagai
Group 1-winning speedster Shelby Sixtysix will be a shock nominee for Friday’s time-honoured Snake Gully Cup.
Trainer Danny Williams told The Mail that Shelby Sixtysix would be thrown into the $100,000 bush feature as a back-up plan if the rain does not arrive in Newcastle for The Hunter the following day.
Shelby Sixtysix will be nominated for Friday’s Snake Gully CupCredit:SMH
Williams is not afraid to run at Gundagai provided the handicapper does not play party-pooper. Chances are Gundagai will be wet given you needed a boat just to get to the track at the start of the week.
If Shelby Sixtysix goes that way, Williams said he would back him up the following week in the Sandown Stakes. Robbie Dolan, who kicked home Shelby Sixtysix in The Galaxy in the autumn, has been engaged for The Hunter.
Sheeza beauty
Sheeza Belter beat the older mares with authority in the group 2 Hot Danish Stakes (1400m), and Team Snowden will sift through some paperwork to see if she is still eligible for the $1 million fillies and mares race on Magic Millions Day in January.
If not, Sheeza Belter will be saved for the autumn and Brisbane winter, where she is destined to win some quality races.
Sheeza Belter was way too good for the older mares in the Hot Danish Stakes.Credit:Getty Images
Paul Snowden, who paraded just as good as Sheeza Belter in the yard after dropping north of 20kg, said anywhere between 1400m to 1600m would be right in the filly’s sweet spot.
“We’ll have a lot of fun with her the next six to 12 months,” Snowden said.
Big Bets
Bagmen had a good day at the office at Flemington, where Nature Strip, Anamoe and Private Eye all crashed as favourites.
Rosehill rails bookie Dave Dwyer also had joy with some of the fancied chances going down at Rosehill, including $10,000 at $2.35 on Electric Girl (fourth), $10,000 at $2.50 on Naval Seal (fifth) and $3000 at $4.60 on Essential Sky (fifth).
Kintyre reprieve
Kintyre, the half-brother to Golden Slipper winner Fireburn, risked being gelded if he flopped in the Golden Gift. Kintyre finished tenth, but trainer Gary Portelli said the colt will be spared the chop for one more campaign given his race-day manners were much improved.
