The day Dettori ruled the world

Whatever the future holds for Frankie Dettori, his name will forever be etched in Turf legend for what he achieved on an unforgettable afternoon at Ascot in 1996.

On Queen Elizabeth II Stakes day, with the BBC cameras rolling, he went through the card with seven winners from seven rides – his ‘Magnificent Seven’.

It was a historic occasion within the sport, but it resonated in the big wide world, too, securing a special place in popular culture for the Italian jockey.

Dettori’s feat was unmatched, topping the previous best on six-race cards by Sir Gordon Richards at Chepstow in 1933 and Alec Russell at Bogside in 1957.

Willie Carson had gone close with six winners from seven rides on Northumberland Plate day at Newcastle in 1990, though his through-the-card chance had disappeared as early as the third race.

But the status of the meeting at Ascot on Saturday, September 28, ensured that nothing could match the impact of Dettori’s supreme achievement.

The cumulative SP odds for anyone who had the good fortune to back the winners – and plenty did – were 25,095-1, though ‘early bird’ prices suggest the true odds against it happening were 235,834-1.

Dettori began by winning the Cumberland Lodge Stakes (Group Three) on Wall Street (2-1), and followed that when Diffident (12-1) scrambled home by two short heads in the Diadem Stakes (Group Two).

Both horses were owned by his Godolphin paymasters, who also provided his mount in the day’s feature Group One race.

Mark Of Esteem was sent off at 100-30 and put up a career-best …

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