Frankie Dettori slowly coasts to a halt in the paddock of the Bahrain International grand prix circuit, emerges from his saloon car, and takes off his crash helmet.
“Wow that was fun! What a crack, fast and very exciting,” says the world’s most famous jockey as he runs his hands through sweat-streaked hair.
Dettori had just been enjoying a different kind of horsepower to the one he is normally associated with. He and Richard Kingscote, his fellow jockey who won the English Derby in June, were racing each other – albeit mainly for fun – ahead of their participation in the fourth running of the Kingdom’s most valuable race, the Bahrain International Trophy, which took place on Friday.
He begrudgingly admits that Kingscote is a better driver than he is. “But that’s because he spends his life on motorbikes so he knows exactly what to do!
“It was a tricky track and I managed to spin it but we got there! It was great. But I don’t’ see myself ever becoming a grand prix driver.
“I do follow Formula 1 though,” continues the 51-year-old, who arrived in Abu Dhabi on Saturday to watch the final Grand Prix of the season. “I have loved it since I was a kid and the great days of Ferrari when Niki Lauda was champion.
“I have been lucky to go to Silverstone many times and to the Bahrain Grand Prix. I’ve never been to the Abu Dhabi race so I am really looking forward to it.”
The ever-engaging Dettori agrees to continue the interview in his 18th floor hotel room. He is even prepared to interrupt his normal race-day ritual to speak exclusively to The National. He appears from his steam room clad in a thick white dressing gown and two towels around his neck and begins talking at his usual rapid fire about a host of subjects.
Apart from cars these include racing, his future plans in the sport, possible retirement and his particular love for the Gulf and the region in general.
During the conversation he rises from the sofa stands by the window which offers a panoramic vista of the burgeoning cityscape of the capital Manama and opens an expansive arm.
“Look, it’s amazing. This place is growing massively in every sense of the word. I have been coming here for seven or eight years and you notice the changes everywhere, it is an incredible place,” says Dettori. “The people here are ultra-nice, hospitality is wonderful. I can’t say a bad thing about it.”
The progress is on all fronts, not least horse racing, which forms part of the Kingdom’s desire to host major sporting events.
“When I first came I was riding horses rated in the 80s and 90s (the lowest) and now they’re top-rated 110 or more. There are some good horses and they are investing a lot of money in horse racing which is great."
As well as Bahrain, he has ridden in Dubai, where he once had a restaurant with celebrity chef Marco Pierre White, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. His association with and affection for the Gulf goes back a quarter of a century.
“I started coming to Dubai in 1992 I think it was. There was a jockey’s challenge there. There was basically one hotel, the Hilton, where we all stayed. The racetrack was really quite basic. Nothing like it is now.
“Two or three years later I started with Godolphin so I did 18 winters there, then we split and I had a bit of a break. I came back again three years ago and this March won the World Cup (on Country Grammar for the American trainer Bob Baffert).
“It was something which I never thought I would do again. It was a great achievement and something about which I am really proud.”
It was his fourth success in the race but his first out of Godolphin colours.
So what’s next? In the immediate term he is raising his horizons and in December is moving, if only temporarily, to be based in California where he is in big demand.
“I’ve done four winters there over the years and loved it. The demand is there; trainers asked, ‘Why don’t you do it?’
His first race is on Boxing Day, meaning he will miss Christmas back at home in Newmarket with his family, wife Catherine and their five children.
“I have spoken to the kids well, there’re not kids anymore and said, ‘Sorry I won’t be there for Christmas’.
“But they didn’t seem to care that much,” he jokes. “All they do want is some money! They don’t believe in Santa Claus anymore.”
What about longer term plans? When will his glittering career in the saddle come to an end?
“I will definitely do next year,” he explains. “And there is a possibility I could then stop, or there is a possibility I could carry on.
“It all depends how I feel, what’s on the table for me to ride the year after. I have no definite plans.
“At the moment I am keeping all my options open. At the end of next year I will be 53 so I can’t carry on forever. We shall see.”
He will arrive in Abu Dhabi having not had the best of days in Bahrain, finishing last of ten in the big race. The £600,000 ($713,000) prize was won by Godolphin’s Dubai Future, trained by Saeed bin Saroor and ridden by Daniel Tudhope.
Bin Saroor also saddled the second in Passion and Glory for a memorable afternoon for Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid's operation. This was their first win in the race.
Despite his poor showing, Dettori sees a bright future for the International Trophy and the Kingdom’s overall plans to develop the sport and attract international horses. This year participants came from Britain, Ireland, France and Norway.
“The International Trophy is a pearl, growing and getting better. Horses are coming from around the world. The race was shown in 165 countries. It shows you how much it is growing.”
Dettori and Bin Suroor go back a long way. “Frankie has been my friend for 30 years, and I'm going to support him (whenever I can). Frankie is the best jockey in the world and has been for the last 30 years,” says the trainer.
“We have a very good history. We've travelled all over the world in big races from Hong Kong to Australia to Japan, America, Europe, Dubai, and we've had good results over the years.”
Finally I ask Dettori about the football World Cup. “I am not going to watch it,” he says deadpan because, he explains, his beloved Italy did not qualify.
Then his faces creases into a broad smile. “I will have to support England I suppose!”
And with that he roars off.
