Frankie Dettori was born in Milan in December 1970. He was sent to Newmarket at the age of 16 by his father, Lanfranco, a former Italian champion jockey, where he worked as a bookie before being taken up by the trainer Luca Cumani. In 1990 he became the first teenager since Lester Piggott to ride 100 winners in a season. In the next ten years he became one of the most successful jockeys the flat has ever seen, and was awarded an MBE in 2000. He is currently the No 1 stable jockey of Sheikh Mohammed. He has a wife, Catherine, and four children.
Jonathan Powell is horse racing correspondent on the Mail on Sunday.