Italian jockey Frankie Dettori tried out a different type of horse-power last Wednesday, 13 February, when he swapped racehorses for a powerboat in Dubai.
While out in the United Arab Emirates preparing from the Dubai World Cup — the world’s richest horse race — Frankie took to the Arabian Gulf in a powerboat with Class One Victory Powerboat team.
Frankie will be attempting to win the prestigious Dubai World Cup — which will be held on 29 March — for the fourth time.
Frankie, who has had 91 Group/Grade One wins for international racing stable Godolphin, reached speeds of up to 147mph in the 1,800 horse-power speedboat.
Frankie said: “I’ve been coming to Dubai for the past 14 years and seen these boats in action so I’ve always wanted to take on the challenge.
“You don’t get the chance to drive a boat like this very often so I was very excited to be given the opportunity.
“They tell me we were doing 147mph but I don’t know about that. I was concentrating so hard I was afraid to blink.”
World champion throttleman Jean Marc Sanchez of the Class One Victory team said: “Frankie was a natural. Like anyone doing it for the first time he had to get used to the positions of the turn buoys but once he had a couple of laps under his belt he had a very good feel for the boat and handled her superbly on the turns.”
