Frankie Dettori made a dream comeback from injury today (Wednesday 22 January), winning on the first 2 of his 3 rides at Lingfield.
Frankie, who is now 43, had been sidelined for more than 3 months after breaking his ankle in a fall on the way to the start at Nottingham on 2 October. The fall meant that he missed out on the winning ride on Treve in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.
The 3-time champion Flat jockey made up for lost time and rode Eco Warrior to victory in the Median Auction Maiden Stakes. He then completed the double less than an hour later, winning on Jeremy Noseda’s Gone With The Wind in a 6f maiden stakes.
Speaking after his first win Frankie said: “It’s been a fairytale comeback.
“Thank you to my surgeon Mr Robinson for screwing me back together and to everyone for putting up with me for the past 3 months. It’s nice to be out of the house and nice to do what I love, racing.
“I’ve got no pain, it’s just trying to get my strength back and there’s nothing like race-riding.
“That was a big pipe-opener and I’ll keep myself busy, it’s the mental awareness of racing, that’s what you have to sharpen up.”
Fans of Frankie’s famous celebratory flying dismount will have to wait a little bit longer as his specialists have reportedly told him to “take it easy”.
The Italian extravert now heads for Meydan Racecourse in Dubai where he will ride Mshawish for Mikel Delzangles in the Group Two Al Fahidi Fort on Thursday (23 January).
