Frankie Dettori will no doubt go down in history as one of the most enigmatic champions but there is no doubting his skill as a rider. He has had a lot of big race success that includes key victories in Europe’s premier race the Prix de L’Arc de Triomphe aboard Golden Horn and most recently the star filly Enable. They were both trained by master trainer John Gosden.
However there is no doubting he will go down in folk law for what occurred on September 28th 1996 in which he won all seven races on the card which is renowned as an unachievable feat in racing. The accumulator of all seven winners paid out at 25,051/1 in which cost the bookies millions including one lucky punter winning more than £500,000. You can bet on horse racing with paddy power yourself ahead of the huge end of season meeting at Ascot later this month.
1) WALL STREET 2/1
Wall Street was the well fancied favourite to make a winning start on the card for Frankie and duly obliged by half a length to make it a winning start for the champ. The horse went on to run in the US following this finishing 8th in the Breeders’ cup turf.
2) DIFFIDENT 12/1
Diffident was an unfancied 12/1 shot to make it a second win on the bounce for Frankie. However he came through the pack to just hold on by a nose to continue the winning sequence. The horse has had a successful career at stud in India included having sired winners in their local Oaks and Guineas.
3) MARK OF ESTEEM 100/3
Mark of Esteem made it three on the bounce as he won the Group one Queen Elizabeth II stakes which was the key race on the day. The horse came with a strong late run on the outside to win by just over a length and cement himself as one of the best around at the time. Bookmakers were just starting to get worried at this point that the impossible feat could come true on the day.
4) DECORATED HERO 7/1
Decorated hero went into the fourth race on the card as top weight in a big handicap which is an extremely difficult feat to achieve. However with many punters behind him he stormed clear to win easily by 3 to 4 lengths ahead of over 25 rivals. This led for the noise in the crowd to raise further as the impossible dream was slowly becoming a reality.
5) FATEFULLY 7/4
Fatefully went into the race as the clear 7/4 favourite after punters now latched on to his famous winning run. The horse again did the business as he only had to be pushed out to win by a comfortable neck. Bookmakers now started to fear the worst as the accumulators and potential pay out began to build ahead of the final two races.
6) LOCHANGEL 5/4
Now with huge confidence and everyone’s backing Dettori went into the 6th race on the 5/4 favourite. The horse made it look easy as he led from start to finish to win by a length with a further 10 lengths back to the third. This had already sealed a memorable afternoon in racing but it was not over yet for the star.
7) FUJIYAMA CREST 2/1
Now going into the last race on the day and the impossible very soon to become reality every man and his dog were pilling on Dettori as if defeat was out of the question. The horse began the afternoon as an unfancied 12/1 shot but following all the success on the day for his rider was the heavily over bet 2/1 favourite. The horse took the race up from several furlongs out and continued to find for Dettori holding on by neck. An incredible day that will forever go down in racing folk law.
