Frankie Dettori relishing Euro final but teases England over 'phantom penalty'

Frankie Dettori may have lived in England for most of his life, but there will certainly be no divided loyalties when Italy face England in the final of the European Championships at Wembley on Sunday.

The jockey watched in the crowd with weighing-room colleague Andrea Atzeni as his home country beat Spain on penalties in Tuesday's semi-final.

But he will not be in London to watch them take on England, who beat Denmark 2-1 on Wednesday. Instead Dettori, who was videoed among the vocal Italian fans after their semi-final, will be "hiding" while watching the game on TV.

"I watched most of the football until England got the phantom penalty and I decided to go to bed," said Dettori, speaking from Newmarket's July course. "But we couldn't have hoped for a better final."

Dettori, who was born in Milan and moved to Newmarket as a teenager in 1985, said: "I took Andrea and my daughter to the semi-final. It was a rollercoaster. Afterwards, it felt like I'd just had seven rides at Ascot.

"I think the final will be close but England have home advantage with 60,000 people cheering for them, so it's going to be tough for Italy.

"I'm taking my wife away for a couple of days and I didn't realise it fell on the same day as the final. Maybe it's a good thing, in case we get beaten. I'll be hiding and watch it by myself."

There was a relaxed, feel-good atmosphere on the July course on the first day of its three-day meeting, far removed from the honking car horns and chants of 'Southgate You're the One' and 'It's Coming Home' that echoed through the town's high street on Wednesday.

The band in the premier enclosure did their part to keep the football spirit alive with their own rendition of 'Three Lions', which was well-received by members of the approximately 4,000-strong crowd.

They were not the only ones and the sporadic singing of more classic hits, such as 'World In Motion' and 'We're On The Ball' could also be heard from some punters, often met with a knowing nod of approval.

"I watched it along with the rest of the country," said John Hebdon, an annual member at the track. "England deserved to win and it was a great feeling. I'm pleased but I'm slightly sad for Denmark. They were great opponents and things have been against them.

"It's a real bonus to come here as well. We've been waiting for the return of more crowds and it's the first time we've had any really decent racing here. I've not been at the meeting for two years. There's 38 days a year and I probably get to at least 20 of them."

A three-piece ukulele band serenaded racegoers with a rendition of 'Three Lions'Credit: Edward Whitaker

Another racegoer, Alex Butcher, 24, was already looking ahead to the final, and said: "I watched it at home and it was a real buzz. I thought we played well and I can't wait for the final on Sunday.

"I'm here for one day but we try to come every year. Hopefully, I'll back a few winners and spend the money while watching the final."

His partner Jade Hough, also 24, did not object to the plan, and added: "I watched the game at work and it was nervy during extra time, especially when Harry Kane missed his penalty [before netting the rebound]. The Danes were on top for about 20 minutes, but then England went for it."

For the first time in years, the bookmakers will be cheering on England at Wembley.

"A three-piece band on Newmarket’s beautiful July course is a quintessential racing scene, but when the trio are blasting out 'It's Coming Home' it really makes you appreciate we’re experiencing footballing history," said Paddy Power spokesman Paul Binfield.

"Currently we're standing on Italy being our poorest overall result, while England are a good result, purely for price reasons as they were around 10-1 for all other tournaments in recent history and this time went in early doors as one of the favourites for the tournament."

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