Frankie Dettori: it was a peach of a ride, wasn't it? I was brave in those days

Somewhere in a box in Frankie Dettori's house, maybe at the back of a drawer or on top of a wardrobe, there is a small sheaf of horsehair that's of great sentimental value. He may not remember quite where he's put it, but he knows where it came from and why he's got it.

"He was my first big horse, to the point that I even clipped a bit of his tail when he retired," says the great man. "He was all my firsts: I had my first Listed winner on him, my first Group 2, my first Royal Ascot winner, my first Group 1; he was a magnificent horse to look at, big, black, solid, strong, like sitting on a couch, and he had a tremendous turn of foot, which was what made him so good."

It was 30 years ago that Markofdistinction crossed paths with a young Dettori, like an equine asteroid colliding with a rising star, yet the impact clearly remains fresh in the memory. The gifted young rider had just succeeded Ray Cochrane as stable jockey to Luca Cumani in Newmarket and a glittering future was being predicted for him, but even the brightest talents need a good horse or two to help them along the way, and this one appeared in the sky at just the right time, although rather out of the blue.