Newmarket: Frankie Dettori to sell items from 40-year racing career

Jockey Frankie Dettori is selling items including trophies and racing silks ahead of his retirement.

Dettori, 52, who lives near Newmarket in Suffolk, and has had more than 4,000 wins in a career that started in the 1980s, is putting 126 items up for auction, including his jockey scales, a saddle and boots.

He plans to retire after Ascot in October and is preparing to move house.

"Newmarket's been my life, [but] we're scaling down," he said.

The sale has been described by Cheffins auctioneers in Cambridge as a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to own prizes and memorabilia from one of the greatest sports personalities worldwide".

Among the lots is Dettori's trophy from his Epsom Oaks win last month, which could be his last win in a classic race, although he is due to ride in the St Leger in September.

Dettori said he and his wife Catherine would be moving away from Newmarket, where he has lived for nearly 40 years, as their children have all "branched out".

"I've got so much stuff, we thought we might as well just auction it," he said.

"We didn't realise how much accumulated in so many years.

"I tried to keep something that means something to me, some of the important stuff like the Derby and things like that, but the rest is going to go up in auction."

He said that, at nearly 53 years old, he felt it was the right time to retire, and "wanted to stop at the top", but it was "not going to be easy".

"I still feel that I'm riding well enough to finish at the top," he said.

"My heart doesn't want to stop, but my brain is telling me to stop."

Dettori said he was in talks with a few TV channels so that in his retirement he was "not going to be too far away from horseracing".

"It's going to be sad when I get to the end of the season, but at the moment I'm not thinking about it," he said.

"I'm trying to do good and trying to go through my last year in a happy fashion."

Harriet Lusty, from Cheffins, said: "This is an incredible opportunity for fans of horseracing, and we expect interest from buyers not only from the UK but also from across Europe, the Middle East and also the US, as Frankie Dettori is consistently the most famous name in the sport worldwide.

"This is a really unusual scenario where everyday fans can own a part of sporting history."

The sale will take place online over a two-week period from 5 July with some of the proceeds going to the charity Direct Aid For Africa.

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