FRANKIE DETTORI has gone into detail about his complicated relationship with his dad.
Dettori, 52, will wave goodbye to British racing on Saturday at Ascot in what he insists will be his final time at the track that turned him into a global superstar.
InstagramFrankie and his sister, left, have both gone years without talking to their father Gianfranco[/caption]
He has predicted waterworks in front of the cameras – and crowds will flock to the Royal venue to catch a glimpse of him riding off into the sunset.
One man who won’t shed a tear though is his father, Gianfranco.
A 13-time champion jockey in their native Italy, Gianfranco sent his boy to Newmarket as a teenager to set him on the path to stardom.
But he is a tough taskmaster and Frankie expects there to be no sentimentality on his big farewell this weekend.
Not that there has ever been any throughout his legendary career.
Asked in an interview with the Guardian if his dad had ever told him ‘well done’ – maybe after any one of his record six Arc wins?
Frankie said: “My dad? Rare. It’s that rare, I can’t remember.”
And will he give him a big bear hug at Ascot?
Frankie replied: “No chance. Dad is set in his ways.
“For years he hurt me, but now that I know his character, it doesn’t affect me in the slightest.”
Frankie – who was recently snubbed for a ride in the Melbourne Cup – and his dad once went three years without talking.
His older sister Alessandra got it worse, with Gianfranco refusing to talk to her for 40 years until they recently made up.
Frankie said his sister jokes he liked getting a talking to from his dad as a sort of pain-for-pleasure experience.
The jockey added: “My sister thinks I keep calling him because I like getting reprimanded. Not really.
“Every time I call my dad it’s because I know he’s the only one to give me an honest opinion.
“It’s more of a professional relationship, because if I do something wrong he’ll tell me the truth.”
Frankie summed it up best when talking to the Telegraph, when he said: “My dad is straight to the point. If he thinks I’ve f***ed up, he’ll tell me.”
So on Saturday, for all the love-in on TV and in the stands, just remember the one man closest to Frankie won’t be any part of it.
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