Frankie Dettori has found his mojo again - and I wouldn't blame him for a retirement U-turn

The beginning of the end or merely the end of the beginning? The more I watch Frankie Dettori's 'final' season in the saddle, and the more we hear from those who are closest to him, the more I find myself questioning whether this really is the last dance.

No doubt racing's biggest name thought long and hard before announcing his decision in December to make 2023 his last year and, at that point, the timing would have felt right. But, given the success he has enjoyed since, surely he would have slept on it for a little longer given the chance again.

The announcement came on the back of one of the most volatile seasons of Dettori's career, one which started to go wrong when Emily Upjohn stumbled at the start in the Oaks before rattling home to be beaten only a short-head. Then, at Royal Ascot, he was blamed by his boss John Gosden for "overcomplicating" matters after being beaten a head on Saga in the Britannia and, when things went horribly wrong again as he went for history aboard Stradivarius in the Gold Cup, the working relationship between trainer and jockey became strained to the point of breaking.