HORSE-RACING legend Frankie Dettori has achieved just about everything possible in his chosen field — and is also taking on I’m A Celebrity 2023.
Here we look at his net worth, family and place of birth.
RexFrankie Dettori and CJ the Koala on I’m A Celebrity 2023[/caption]
Where was Frankie Dettori born?
Lanfranco (Frankie) Dettori was born in Milan, Italy on December 15, 1970.
In July 1985 he left Italy for England to work for trainer Luca Cumani in the yard at Newmarket.
Frankie started his racing career in 1986 and rode his first winner at the age of 16 at Goodwood in 1987.
The 52-year-old has ridden well over 3,000 winners since the start of his career and is still competing now.
He picked up an impressive 37 wins as a 51-year-old in 2022.
Who is Frankie Dettori’s dad Gianfranco?
Frankie Detorri is the son of Sardinian jockey Gianfranco, a prolific horse racing winner in Italy, who was born on April 25, 1941.
Gianfranco was married to Frankie’s mum Christine, but the couple got divorced when Dettori was a baby.
Frankie told The Big Issue: “My parents got divorced when I was six months old, and at first I lived with my mum, who comes from the circus.
“She was a trapeze artist, contortionist, standing on horses — she did all that.
“My mum, my uncle, my uncle’s brother, they were all in the circus.
“I remember as a young kid, before I was five, going to see my relatives in the circus.
“This was in the early ’70s so they had lots of animals; four lions, six monkeys, an elephant, all chained up in cages.
“If you tell people that they say ‘how cruel you were’ — but that was the way the world worked then.”
A 13-time champion jockey in their homeland, Gianfranco sent his boy to Newmarket as a teenager to set him on the path to glory.
When asked in a 2023 interview with the Guardian whether his dad ever said ‘well done’ for his record-breaking achievements, Frankie said: “My dad? Rare. It’s that rare, I can’t remember.”
And when asked about whether his father would congratulate him on a glittering career following his final race on British soil at Ascot on October 21, 2023, Dettori explained: “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.”
What is Frankie Dettori’s net worth?
According to most reports Frankie is worth between £15million and £18million.
The Italian had made an estimated £153million in career earnings back in 2022.
OLGB have Dettori in 37th for the top 50 highest-earning jockeys in the world.
The jockey’s best year came in 2019 when he won a colossal £7,365,868.
Who is Frankie Dettori’s wife Catherine and do they have any children?
Dettori’s wife Catherine is reportedly a stay-at-home mum.
Frankie met Catherine while she was at university — he first clapped eyes on her while she was leading a horse he was riding up at Haydock.
The couple got married in July, 1997 in New Market, England.
The Dettori family currently resides in Stetchworth near Newmarket, Suffolk.
Catherine’s dad Professor William “Twink” Allen, was a candidate in UKIP elections in 2015.
Originally from New Zealand, William’s not a stranger to the world of horse racing — he is well known within the Newmarket horse community for being involved with breeding.
Frankie and Catherine have five children together: Leo, Ella, Mia, Tallula and Rocco.
Of all of his children, Dettori believed his youngest boy, Rocco, was most likely to take up horse-riding professionally.
In 2015 Frankie explained: “If I had to tip one, it’s him. He has the physique and likes to go flat out.”
But during the Covid-19 pandemic, Rocco’s gym routine led to him bulking up, with Dettori saying: “… he went into the gym and he turned out to be a pretty robust guy, strong and muscly, so unfortunately his career is gone somewhere else.
“He still loves his riding but he is way too big and too strong.”
His second eldest child Ella competed in her first ever race as a jockey in July 2021, when she was 19 years old.
She made her debut in the charity Magnolia Cup race at Glorious Goodwood.
The contest finished in a dramatic dead-heat, with the judges unable to split the two leading runners.
After the race, Ella said: “Dad gave me a few tips before the race.
“I hope I made him proud, that was my aim.”