Special Frankie Dettori is better than ever and right to continue, says legendary trainer

When Frankie Dettori announced a dramatic U-turn on his plans to retire as a jockey, it came as no surprise to Luca Cumani.

Cumani has long been a close confidante of the brilliant rider who had previously insisted that the 2023 season would be his swansong.

This Saturday is Champions Day at Ascot, the glittering showpiece finale to the Flat racing season in England, and was supposed to be a key part of Dettori's long goodbye ahead of a planned final outing at November's Breeders' Cup.

But earlier this month, the 52-year-old confirmed rumours that he will indeed race on, spending the next few years competing in America and at major races in Japan, Australia and the Middle East.

He does, however, maintain that Saturday will be his last race in England – fittingly at his beloved Ascot – but many sceptics feel that one day he will be back.

“I have known that he was going to carry on and go to California since early summer,” said Cumani, who has long been a father figure to the mercurial Dettori.

“I just couldn’t say so! I’m calling him Frankie Sinatra because he has decided to make a comeback.

“He said he thought life in California would suit him very well. There would be no travel, it’s easier to get out of your house and get in your car and in 10 minutes you are at the racecourse. And generally speaking there are good horses and great prize money.”

In fact, Cumani probably had an impact on that decision not to quit.

“I was very disappointed when he first announced that he was retiring because he has been riding so well," added the 74-year-old Cumani, trainer of seven winners in the Classics.

“In the spring whenever he was winning a big race, I would always text him saying, ‘What the hell are you doing retiring? You’re