THE Frankie factor has bookmakers sweating ahead of a huge week at Royal Ascot.
Dettori, 51, has over 70 Royal Ascot winners in his long and illustrious career and will be confident of adding to that figure next week.
Frankie returns to the scene of perhaps the most famous day in racing history, where he recorded his ‘Magnificent 7’ at Ascot in 1996.
Since then, he has been at the forefront of punters’ minds when backing their accumulators and multiples for throughout the week.
He currently sits at 3/1 in the market to be top jockey. But the Italian has had some of his rides pinched by Irad Ortiz, with top US trainer Wesley Ward opting to use the Puerta Rican instead of Dettori.
Ortiz will get the leg up on Golden Pal, the current 7-4 favourite for the Group 1 King’s Stand Stakes, among others.
That could put a halt to Frankie’s success this week though he won’t be short of rides!
And the thought of him adding more than a couple of winners to his Royal Ascot record has struck fear into the bookies.
His confirmed rides just now include Mighty Ulysses, who opposes Coroebus in the St James’ Palace on Tuesday.
Wednesday sees him aboard Baltic Bird in the Queen’s Vase and Lord North in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes.
But if you asked him now, Dettori would likely already be looking forward to Thursday.
He’ll once again be reunited with superstar Stradivarius as they look to regain their Ascot Gold Cup crown they lost to Subjectivist last year.
As it stands, they are favourites to do so after a return to the winners enclosure at York last month.
While later in the day, he rides Reach For The Moon for Her Majesty the Queen in the Hampton Court Stakes.
The thought of riding a royal winner excites Frankie, particularly in the Queen’s Jubilee year.
He said: “If I have one more Royal Ascot winner, I’d love it to be for Her Majesty.
“It is always a tremendous honour to ride for her. The thrill is always the same. There is enormous pride riding for her.
“It is her Jubilee this year – 70 years – and she is 96, so it would be an absolute dream to win at Royal Ascot for her. Wouldn’t that be fantastic? I think everyone would love it!”
William Hill traders aren’t quite as excited by the prospect of a lot of Frankie success – particularly in the week’s big races.
They said: “Frankie multiples are always a big concern at Ascot, and it will be one of the factors we take into account as we price and trade markets.
“The level of support for his runners varies depending on the profile of that particular race.
“At the moment, Frankie is available at 3/1 in our top jockey market.
“The level of support at that price can be characterised as steady.”
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