Is Stradivarius snub harsh on Frankie Dettori?

“Frankie Dettori, who has enjoyed a great relationship with Stradivarius and ridden him to many brilliant stakes victories – more than he has any other horse – will by mutual agreement give up the ride to Andrea Atzeni in the Goodwood Cup.

“Frankie remains not only ‘the Strad’s’ biggest fan, but a very good friend and, of course, I look forward to seeing him continue his phenomenal career as one of the greatest big-race jockeys of all time.”

Those were the words of Bjorn Nielsen, the owner of the legendary Stradivarius, when he made the shock revelation earlier this week that fabled Italian jockey Frankie Dettori will not be riding the three-time Ascot Gold Cup winner at next week’s Goodwood Festival — where the John and Thady Gosden-trained eight-year-old will be attempting to land a record-extending fifth Goodwood Cup.

While Nielsen claims that the decision was via a mutual agreement between him and the jockey, it’s hard to believe that someone as emotional as Dettori would be so willing to give up the ride on a horse so close to his heart and in such a monumental moment of both of their careers — especially as it’s likely that this will be Stradivarius’ swansong, or at least one of his final races.

The Dettori/Stradivarius partnership is almost unmatched in this era of flat racing, with the duo, who are so often fancied in the horse racing bets, going on to win 15 Group races together over the course of the last five years — including two of those four famous Goodwood Cups wins and three Group 2 Lonsdale Cups at the York Ebor Festival.

Ultimately, it seems pretty evident that Bjorn has made the decision following Detorri’s recent ride on the eight-year-old at last month’s Royal Ascot. The 51-year-old rider was heavily criticised for his performance in Berkshire, with the Gosden’s even calling for a ‘sabbatical’ from their ten-year trainer/jockey relationship — which has already been ended as Dettori started riding for the father/son duo again at the Newmarket July Festival.

But while the Gosdens might be willing to forgive and forget some high-profile failures from Dettori this season, not just at Ascot but also in the Oaks where he was lamented after coming second aboard favourite Emily Upjohn after a poor start to the Classic, it is evident that Bjorn is not ready to let the Italian off as easily — even if he claims that they are still good friends.

It is no secret that the passionate South African’s goal for Stradivarius over the last couple of seasons was to win that record-equalling fourth Gold Cup. The weather was excusable for defeat in 2021, but with this year being the eight-year-old’s final attempt at the Royal highlight, Bjorn’s dream has been shattered and it’s clear he blames Dettori.

Indeed, it is a harsh decision on the jockey and one we believe he could not have taken lightly. However, it is also the harsh reality of racing. We witness jockeys being stripped of rides aboard horses they know like they back of their hand in high-profile races all the time and whether Dettori likes it or not he is just the latest victim — and not for the first time this season.

Of course, the decision to swap the Italian for his compatriot Atzeni isn’t an entirely rash one from Bjorn and it doesn’t appear to have had too much of an adverse effect in the Goodwood betting. While Dettori has partnered Strad for 27 of his 33-career outings, the 31-year-old rode him to his first two Group victories in 2017 — winning the Group 2 Queen’s Vase at Ascot before landing the first of those four Goodwood Cups, which Atzeni also retained the following year before Dettori truly took over.