Frankie - The Autobiography of Frankie Dettori
by Frankie Dettori, with Jonathan Powell
Collins Winslow $112
Jockeys ride on instinct, says Frankie Dettori. Races are won or lost in a split second. 'The human brain works very quickly, but if you take time to work out your move it will be too late. The gap will have disappeared.' Dettori, son of 13-times Italian champion jockey Gianfranco, wasn't thinking at all when his career almost ended before it started, brought low by a combination of Hong Kong cash, cocaine and 23-year-old invincibility. He admits in this nicely done memoir - by British racing correspondent Jonathan Powell - that he saw only pound signs when trainer Gary Ng Ting-keung, backed by some big owners, sought to sign him for the Hong Kong season starting August 1993. The offer of a two-year contract at GBP250,000, and a taste of the Hong Kong high life, was irresistible. Then he was caught back in London partying with cocaine in his pocket after a winning ride in the Queen's colours, and the Hong Kong Jockey Club decided it was not in their best interests. The intervention of trainer Barney Curley gave him a brilliant career.