John Gosden and Frankie Dettori agree to 'take a sabbatical' after crunch talks

John Gosden and Frankie Dettori have agreed to "take a sabbatical" after the pair met on Friday in Newmarket.

In a statement, Gosden, who trains with his son Thady, said the situation was amicable and that he does not intend to appoint a stable jockey at Clarehaven.

Gosden said: "Following speculation in the press, Frankie and I have amicably decided to take a sabbatical from the trainer-jockey relationship but we remain the closest of friends and colleagues.

"Frankie has been – and always will be – one of the family here so I wanted to meet face to face after he returned from his post-Ascot holiday.

"I do not intend to appoint a stable jockey at Clarehaven."

John Gosden was highly critical of a number of Frankie Dettori's rides at Royal AscotCredit: Edward Whitaker

Dettori experienced a chastening time during Royal Ascot, where cracks in his relationship with Gosden came out into the open.

Gosden was highly critical of a number of Dettori's rides during the meeting, most notably his high-profile defeat on Stradivarius in the Gold Cup and a subsequent narrow loss aboard the Queen’s Saga in the Britannia Stakes.

The situation deteriorated further on Thursday this week when Dettori was not booked to ride for the stable at Newmarket despite being in action on the card.

The 51-year-old is set to have his first ride since the royal meeting on the Ralph Beckett-trained Lezoo for owner and friend Marc Chan in a Listed fillies' event (2.05).

'Frankie is the most superb international jockey'

Gosden, who has booked Rab Havlin and James Doyle to ride the stable's runners Stowell and Sunray Major at the July course on Saturday, also alluded to a hugely successful seven years in partnership with Dettori, featuring three wins in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe and a Derby success.

He added: "Frankie is the most superb international jockey and, together, we have achieved significant successes at various times over the last three decades with a number of horses including Golden Horn, Enable, Palace Pier, Too Darn Hot and Stradivarius."

Gosden has been Dettori's main provider of bookings since the pair reunited in 2015 following the departure of William Buick to Godolphin. The stable has provided 72 of his 87 rides in Britain this year, and the split – plus Dettori's age – will cause speculation to be rife about the jockey's future in the saddle.

Before Friday evening's announcement, Dettori's manager Peter Burrell had insisted the rider remained hungry and "will come out fighting".

Reacting to news of the split on Friday night, Burrell said: "Frankie called me and he said that himself and John had a very amicable and good meeting, and it is a break that is badly needed at the moment for both parties.

"It is an open-ended break, so basically John has kindly freed Frankie up to go out into the world and do his best.

"That is how it is so good luck to all parties really – it is done now. Frankie has been back in the UK for three days now and is focusing on his weight. He has one ride at Newmarket and then he is off to Istanbul for rides with his great mate Marc Chan. Win, lose or draw tomorrow it will be a happy day.

"We have to be really grateful for John over these last seven years because without him then nothing would have happened."

'He's the Messi of the weighing room'

Dettori's colleague Martin Dwyer on Friday backed the rider to bounce back. One of Dettori's outside rides this season has been on the William Muir and Chris Grassick-trained Pyledriver after Dwyer encouraged connections of the Group 1 winner to book Dettori as his replacement while he is on the sidelines through injury.

Dwyer said: "He's still got it and in my opinion and most other people's, Frankie could ride with his eyes closed better than most jockeys in the weighing room. He's proven that, but there is a reason they put rubbers on the end of pencils and that's because everyone makes mistakes, even the great Dettori. He doesn't make many, but when he does it's on a big stage and everyone sees it.

"I had a chat with William [Muir] and the owners of Pyledriver when I got injured and said, 'Why wouldn't you use Frankie? He's the best in the world'. If you were picking a football team, you wouldn't leave Messi out and he's the Messi of the weighing room. It's as simple as that.

"It's very rare he makes mistakes and it just shows he is human after all."

Gosden and Dettori: seven sensational years

The Gosden and Dettori partnership began with a strong campaign in 2015, headlined by wins in the Derby, Eclipse, Irish Champion Stakes and Arc with Golden Horn.

Enable's dominant campaign as a three-year-old followed in 2017, a season capped by Champions Day wins for Cracksman and Persuasive, and with the relationship going from strength to strength Dettori relinquished his role as retained rider to Sheikh Joaan Al Thani's Al Shaqab Racing in 2018 to concentrate on the job at Clarehaven.

A vintage 12 months followed for Dettori, headlined by a second Arc for Enable, but big races began to go awry from June 2021. Things did not go to plan in the Gold Cup that year for Stradivarius, a scenario repeated 12 months on, while Gosden's first noteworthy public criticism of the rider came on Champions Day after Palace Pier was beaten by Baaeed. A poor Royal Ascot, where Dettori did at least manage one Group 1 success for the yard aboard impressive Coronation Stakes heroine Inspiral, was the final straw.

Read this next:

Frankie Dettori and John Gosden: the highs and lows of a great partnership

The Royal Ascot rides that led to the Dettori-Gosden relationship crumbling

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