Super six at Santa Anita means more history for Frankie Dettori

Those lucky enough to be in Arcadia, California on Saturday evening were treated to a real spectacle as Frankie Dettori demonstrated exactly why he decided against hanging up his saddle by riding six consecutive winners at Santa Anita.

In a performance comparable to his 'Magnificent Seven' at Ascot, when he piloted all the winners on the card in September 1996, his dream day in California may have featured one fewer victory but was arguably more impressive.

His seven-win showing 28 years ago at Ascot tallied odds of 2500/1 and Saturday's super six also landed at a huge price.

bet365’s Pat Cooney said: “Not a bad effort from a jockey who said he was retiring a year ago!

"The six-timer paid out a whopping 90,088/1 and easily resulted in a seven-figure payout. His shortest price ride on the card was the even money favourite, Imagination, in the high profile Santa Anita Derby and we were relieved to see him beaten.

"Many customers successfully used our Cash Out option throughout the evening – notably one customer who cashed out just before the defeat of Getthemoney in Race 8 and won £22,858.”

It really stands out in a long list of achievements from the Italian jockey and we have taken the time to analyse his six-timer and where it ranks among his multitude of crowning moments. 

Super six at Santa Anita

Dettori's six-timer started in the second contest on the card as he landed the maiden with 9/4 shot Ball Don't Lie, before following up in the claiming race on 6/1 Recinto Rompere for Leonard Powell. 

Two wins on a difficult card would be a successful day and a job well done for most jockeys, but not Dettori, who was clearly hungry for more when flying home on Roberta's Love, at big odds of 12/1, to land the Evening Jewel Stakes and a purse of $125,000. 

Success aboard 9/2 Kathynmarissa in the card's second maiden followed before the most impressive victory of the six-timer was achieved. Dettori partnered with legendary American trainer Bob Baffert to ride 10/1 shot Nothing Like You - aptly named due to the Italian jockey's claims to being the best in his field of all time - to land the $300,000 Santa Anita Oaks. 

His Oaks success was by far the standout ride in the run, with the Italian using all of his experience and nous to get every drop of talent he could out of Nothing Like You to land an exceptional seven-and-a-half length victory over stablemate and hot 1/2 favourite Kinza. 

Victory on 10/3 Royal Charter - the only favourite in the six-timer - followed to make it a super six for Dettori, and he went close to matching his magnificent seven when finishing second with Imagination in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby. 

Better than the magnificent seven?

The question on those involved in the racing world's lips is where does this lie in Dettori's long list of achievements?

The main competitor would have to be the aforementioned magnificent seven, which saw him win every race on the card at Ascot in 1996. What stands that apart from this six-timer, though, is the quality of rivals he was up against. 

Not only was he facing the best jockeys in the world at Ascot, unlike at Santa Anita, but that seven-timer came at the British Festival of Racing, the afternoon which sees all of the season's biggest winners face off - now known as British Champions Day. 

Dettori has stated in the past regarding his magnificent seven that it is "for sporting achievement, it's my greatest thing that I've ever done, and in horse racing. It would be very hard to match something like that".

Well, you could argue he did almost match it with his Santa Anita six-timer as, although the rivals were not of the same calibre as in his Ascot feat, the horses he rode were nowhere near as favoured. 

Four of Dettori's seven winners at Ascot went off as favourites, while only one of his six in California held the same status, suggesting his level of riding may actually have been better at Santa Anita, which is understandable given he has gained 28 years of experience since his magnificent seven. 

The Italian is a legend of the sport, winning all five Classics on numerous occasions - the 1,000 Guineas and 2,000 Guineas four times each, the Oaks seven times, the St Leger six times and the Derby twice - and wherever you rank this most recent performance in his catalogue of feats, it is obscene how many amazing things Dettori has achieved in his career which has amassed over 3300 wins. 

What next for Dettori?

One thing about Dettori is you never really know what he is going to do. He announced in December 2022 that he would be retiring at the end of the 2022/2023 Flat season, before altering his claim slightly and deciding to continue racing, but only on the International circuit and predominantly in the USA. 

But now, after demonstrating exactly how age is just a number and that talent is timeless, the question remains, will we see the 53-year-old back on British shores before long?

Fresh off his six-timer, it would be no surprise to see Dettori have one last crack at the big races in Britain throughout the summer, and it is certainly something to keep an eye on.