FRANKIE DETTORI has been dazzling punters and sending bookies broke for years.
Nowhere else has he done it better than at Ascot – the home of this week’s amazing Royal meeting.
Look on the racecard and you will see L Dettori instead of F Dettori
But for the countless bettors who have scoured the racecard to find his name, one thing has always stood out.
And punters are now only just realising what it means.
Dettori, 52, is so famous he has reached that upper echelon of sports stars known only by one name.
Say ‘Frankie’ and people will know exactly who you are talking about.
It is intruiging, then, to see his name down as L Dettori in the form book rather than F Dettori.
The reason? His first name isn’t Frankie at all.
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It is actually Lanfranco.
OK, so Frankie is just a shortened version of his Italian forename, but it still stands out on the racecard as looking a little odd.
And in official records, he is down as Lanfranco Dettori.
The difference actually came to national prominence late last year on hit ITV quiz show The Chase.
In response to one question, the contestant gave the answer ‘Franco Dettori’.
In his native Italy, Lanfranco or Franco would be used, but the show only accepted Frankie or Lanfranco.
Dettori’s dad, a top jockey in his own right, was also known by the shorter name now and again, with his full name being Gianfranco.
With this being Frankie’s final season in the saddle, you won’t see the L Dettori on racecards much longer.
He is looking to go out with a bang in his final Royal Ascot.
Although he suffered a torrid first day, picking up a nine-day ban which will force him out of the ride on 9-4 Coral-Eclipse fav Emily Upjohn.
Dettori also finished second in three races, including losing the opening race by a neck to a 33-1 outsider.
