Dettori Makes Saratoga Splash

By Mike Kane 

   With two wins and a second in three mounts Friday, jockey Frankie Dettori stole the show in his first visit to Saratoga Race Course. 
    Despite a late arrival that forced him to miss his first two assignments, Dettori made a smashing debut during opening day of the 146th season of racing in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. Wearing borrowed gear because his luggage didn’t arrive with him on the flight from England, Dettori finished second by a half-length in the seventh race aboard Tiz Sardonic Joe, then guided Aventure Love (Fr) to a one-length victory in the eighth race. 
    “It’s a childhood dream to ride a winner at Saratoga and I managed to do it,” Dettori, 43, said. “It’s a great feeling.” 
    Two races later, Dettori’s aggressive handling in the stretch lifted Jet Majesty to a three-quarter length victory in the finale. 
    Dettori rode Undrafted to a fourth-place finish in the G1 July Cup at Newmarket July 12 for American trainer Wesley Ward and told Ward that he wanted to compete at Saratoga. When Ward said he would be happy to give the European star mounts on his horses at the Spa, Dettori took him up on the offer and made plans to spend the opening weekend. He is named on seven horses Saturday, including Stephanie’s Kitten for trainer Chad Brown in the GI Diana S., two on Sunday and four more on Monday. 
    Saratoga was the third track in a different country in as many days for the globe-trotting Dettori. He was in Istanbul Wednesday night, rode in England at Doncastle on Thursday night, stayed overnight at the airport and caught a morning flight to New York. That flight didn’t arrive at JFK until late morning, which forced Ward to replace him on horses in the first two races. After clearing customs and realizing that his luggage had not traveled with him, Dettori took a private flight to Albany International Airport, which is about 25 miles from the track. 
    For his day’s work, Dettori wore a pair of Rajiv Maragh’s pants, Joe Rocco Jr.’s boots and Julien Leparoux’s whip. 
    “I’ve borrowed a bit from everybody,” he said. “Hopefully my tack will arrive tomorrow.” 
Dettori waved to the crowd and delivered a pair of his flying dismounts in the winner’s circle after Aventure Love’s front-running victory in the 5 1/2-furlong turf race. 
    “It feels great,” he said. “I have a few rides this weekend, but to get the first one out of the way is great. It was a great feeling when I crossed that line. I felt like a kid again.” 
    Though he didn’t have much time to look around the track, Dettori said the opening day crowd of 25,612 made an impression. 
    “When I arrived, I thought I was in Disney World; so many people,” he said. “I thought maybe I got the wrong venue. It’s actually a racetrack. It’s nice to see people at the races. The people make the atmosphere. You can build a beautiful place, but if you haven’t got the warmth of the people it’s nothing. You have a lot of warmth here.”