I'm A Celebrity stint surely on hold as busy international schedule awaits Frankie Dettori

A marker for what is to come was laid down 36 years ago.

Frankie Dettori was being driven home from Goodwood by trainer Luca Cumani's secretary Lizzy Hare, whose name had been given to the filly responsible for giving the 16-year-old apprentice his first British winner earlier that day. As they travelled back to Newmarket, the jubilant Dettori picked up a box of tissues and wrote on the cardboard: "Frankie goes to Hollywood." 

Those of a pedantic nature may point out Dettori is not actually going to Hollywood. Nonetheless, Pasadena is only 15 miles east of Hollywood along a section of the Ventura freeway and it is Pasadena that will soon become home to Frankie and Catherine Dettori. Santa Anita racecourse, nestled at the foot of the San Gabriel mountains, will be his new place of work.

It was at Santa Anita that Dettori kicked off his farewell tour with a successful stint. Like Goodwood, it is a track he learned all about as a teenager. He has made regular return visits, most famously winning the 2008 Breeders' Cup Classic aboard Raven's Pass. This time he will arrive planning not a visit but a potentially lengthy stay. 

Frankie Dettori has enjoyed some of the best moments of his career at Santa AnitaCredit: Edward Whitaker

Before all that, Dettori is booked to ride five horses on Qipco British Champions Day. He then dashes to London's Park Lane for an event at the Grosvenor House Hotel. Those attending the function have paid £1,250 for a ticket or £10,000 for a table. No other figure in the racing world has that sort of pulling power.

Dettori is expected to arrive in California early next week, keen to be mixing with owners and trainers as part of his effort to secure rides at the Santa Anita Breeders' Cup on November 3 and 4. A late Saturday night flight from Los Angeles will then start him on his way to Australia where the Victoria Racing Committee has secured his presence for the final three days of the Melbourne Cup Carnival. 

As yet, he has no ride in the Lexus Melbourne Cup itself, but if one emerges, Dettori will be keen to shine in front of an audience that has not always been as convinced of his greatness as those elsewhere.

Had Dettori not decided to abandon his retirement plan, there was an expectation he would then head across to New South Wales and take part in ITV's I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here. The show pays its contestants extremely well and would have fitted in nicely between Melbourne and December's Hong Kong International Races at Sha Tin where Dettori intends to partner Kinross. 

Frankie Dettori has plenty of experience on the celebrity circuitCredit: Danny Martindale

The reality, however, is the optics of a jockey committed to a new riding career in the US spending a fortnight doing silly things in the jungle would be poor. That might also be the considered opinion of Dettori's agent Howard Kruger. A spokesperson for Kruger's H Talent Management said on Friday: "Frankie is looking forward to Qipco British Champions Day and is very much focusing on international racing as his next challenge."

The celebrity circuit will no doubt come along in time, although Dettori might be as likely to end up on America's Dancing with the Stars as Strictly Come Dancing. 

Much depends on how he enjoys the next big challenge. He will be back riding at Santa Anita from December 26 and no doubt busier than he has been in Britain where he has so far ridden in only 121 races this year. 

The venue known as 'The Great Race Place' only holds fixtures from Thursday to Sunday, but Dettori will need to be visible and active if serious about making a name for himself.

"It could be three months or three years," he said of his American adventure. On the basis that his main ambition is to land a fancied mount in the Kentucky Derby, it will surely last longer than three months. Those hoping to see him make occasional trips back to Britain will hope it does.

"I can't be going backwards and forwards between America and Britain like a yo-yo," he said last week. "I'll tackle the question of riding in Britain again closer to the time. I can't say yes, I can't say no because I don't know. We'll see."

Watching it all from afar will be fascinating.

This story is exclusive to Members' Club Ultimate subscribers. Read more Members' Club content here 

Drugs, debacles and a hell of a lot of winners: the highs and lows of Frankie Dettori 

 Top of the Pops, a Question of Sport and riding Razor Ruddock like a horse: how Frankie Dettori made his mark on popular culture 

Imagine a parallel universe where Frankie Dettori just made a quick, quiet exit... 

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