December-January 2015-2016 /
American Turf Magazine
17
Overseas Report
Dettori had a big 2015
By John Blake
B
ritain
’
s
best
known
jockey
Frankie Dettori enjoyed a vin-
tage 2015 season that restored
bothhisprominence in the riding ranks
and his place in the affections of the
racing public. The ebullient Italian is
still the most recognisable standard
bearer for the sport, butmanyobservers
concluded that the loss of his long-time
contract as first jockey to the Dubai
racing superpower, Godolphin, back
in 2012 would lead to the curtain com-
ing down on the 45 year-old’s brilliant
career.TheyandFrankie couldnot have
predicted that the season would have
yieldedhima secondEnglishDerbywin
and a third success in the big European
turf finale, the Arc de Triomphe.
Dettori’s association with the colt
Golden Horn has done a huge amount
for British racing both in terms of its
popularity within the country and its
reputation overseas. The once-raced
juvenile burst on to the scene in the
Spring with authoritative wins in rec-
ognised trials at Newmarket and York,
before delivering on the biggest stage
of all with a 3 ½ length demolition of
his Derby rivals at Epsom in early June.
To take care of your age group in
your own back yard is certainly no
mean feat but the colt’s elevation to
champion status came at Longchamp
in October as Dettori expertly plotted
his route around the turning French
track to a position of attack two fur-
longs from home. This son of Cape
Cross showed time and again that once
he was rolling at full speed that his
stamina and attitude were never about
to let him down. The wonder mare
Treve, who was prematurely retired at
the end of the previous season, went to
Longchamp in red-hot form to defend
her crown and to try to win a third
straight Arc. The bettors were with her
at odds of even money but she and
GoldenHorn’s 15 other pursuers could
never land a blow.
Trainer John Gosden was relentless
in his pursuit of winners throughout
the season and in any normal year his
Irish Derby winner Jack Hobbs, who
was put in the shade by stable com-
panion Golden Horn at Epsom, would
have kept the handler’s name in the
headlines. As it was, he played his part
in amassing record prize money for the
barn of almost £5m by October.
As clear-cut as Golden Horn’s wins
came, the same could not be said about
the fight to land Britain’s oldest and
final Classic of the year, the 14-furlong
St Leger run at Doncaster in Septem-
ber. Protagonists Simple Verse and
Bondi Beach dueled all the way up
the home straight but to the ultimate
dissatisfaction of the stewards, who
took the view that the filly Simple Verse
had only managed to get her head in
front at the wire by interfering with the
favorite Bondi Beach.
An agonising enquiry concluded
that the placings should be reversed
in favour of the Aidan O’Brien-trained
colt, much to the astonishment of han-
dler Ralph Beckett. Barely one month
earlier, Beckett had again come off
worse after a review by the Arlington
stewards threw out his mare Secret
Gesture following her easy win in the
Beverley D Stakes. A guy can start to
believe the odds are against him when
such things occur, so too the owners
Qatar Racing for whom both horses
compete. The trainer was adamant,
however, that the St Leger had been
won fairly by his talented filly and a
few weeks after the race the decision to
deny Simple Verse her Classic title was
overruled by an appeal panel.
In far less dramatic fashion, a new
name made his way to the top of the
riding ranks in 2015, when the Bra-
zilian Silvestre de Sousa was crowned
champion jockey. The 32 year-old had
left Brazil for Ireland in his early 20s,
but after two stagnant years it took a
chance move to England for his career
to take off. Improving his language
Trainer Aidan O’Brien
Photo by Horsephotos.com/NTRA
