Horse racing, in Capannelle Dettori triumphs in Parioli: «Now I can look for another job»
The legendary jockey retires at the end of the year: I missed him, I had been chasing him for 35 years
Frankie Dettori (Archive)
It should have been Lanfranco "Frankie" Dettori's big day at the Capannelle Racecourse and so it was.
The legendary jockey, capable of triumphing in over 500 group races, of winning even seven in one afternoon (it happened on 28 September 1996 at Ascot so much so that Time wrote that such results "turn men into gods"), of drinking even a gin and tonic with Queen Elizabeth was the protagonist of an unforgettable afternoon on May 1st at the Capannelle racecourse on the day of his last great race: «At the end of the year I'm retiring and I'll look for another job». Even if there are those who have taken the trouble to estimate his earnings at around 147 million pounds, that's enough and - above all - he's making progress so as not to work.
Riding Vero Atleta, the champion triumphed in the eagerly awaited Parioli Prize: «I am very happy and at the same time excited. Parioli was one of the few prizes missing in my rich palmares and I had to wait 35 years to win it, but now I finally succeeded in the last year of my career».
In the other Group III race, the Regina Elena Prize, victory of the announced favourite, Shavasana. However, the mare ridden by Cristian Demuro found a fierce competitor in Estrosa, the mare owned by the Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri, ridden to second place by Alessio Satta.
