Autobiography - Frankie Dettori

Frankie - Frankie Dettori
2004, hardback

FRANKIE DETTORI is that rare thing in horse racing - a genuine superstar. The Italian-born jockey's ability in the saddle, cheeky good humour, immaculate dress sense and spectacular flying dismounts have made him a household name around the world.
Twice champion jockey and a winner of nine British classics along with a string of big races around Europe, Hong Kong, Japan and America, Frankie created sporting history in 1996 with his unforgettable seven race-winners at Ascot. Little wonder that the punters latched on to his horses - the so-called Frankie Factor.
The road to success wasn't always as straightforward. In his book, Frankie looks back at his difficult early life in Milan after his parents split up; in a country where football was king, he followed in his father's footsteps as a jockey, despairingly at first, leaving school at 14 and despatched to a trainer in Pisa where he mucked out and rode as many as 10 horses in a day.
As a stable lad in Newmarket, Frankie recalls his wild days as a flirtatious ladies' man. He talks about his fiery relationship with Luca Cumani, which came to a bitter end when Cumani sacked him; the trauma of receiving a police caution for possessing cocaine; and riding for the Godolphin organisation under Sheikh Mohammed. He also deals emotionally with how he cheated death in a plane crash thanks to a dramatic eleventh-hour rescue from the burning wreckage; and how his life has changed since for him and his family.

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