Dettori signs off with Champion Stakes glory aboard King Of Steel

King Of Steel provided Frankie Dettori with the perfect send-off as they combined for a fairytale success in the Qipco Champion Stakes at Ascot.

Roger Varian’s Derby runner-up was the Italian’s final mount on British soil before jetting off for his new venture in California and they proved a match made in heaven in the British Champions Day feature.

Dettori’s historic achievements at Ascot need no introduction, but it is also the scene of some of King Of Steel’s finest performances this term, including a victory in the King Edward VII Stakes at Royal Ascot.

Placed towards the rear of the field as a lit-up My Prospero took the field along, Dettori had to be at his very best as he steered the son of Wootton Bassett from last to first.

The duo still had plenty of ground to make up as the final furlong loomed, but the stamina reserves of the 3-1 favourite kicked into top gear when it mattered most, to ensure the Dettori swansong got its ultimate conclusion and the crowds burst into raptures chanting the Italian’s name.

Owned by Amo Racing, King Of steel came home three-quarters of a length clear of George Boughey’s filly Via Sistina, with French raider Horizon Dore back in third.

Dettori said: “It’s emotional really, I don’t know what to say. I cannot believe it, the crowd have been sublime. I was doing my best on top and the scream that I got was just incredible, thanks to all of you.

“To win this race is fantastic. It was all in the script! It’s unbelievable. I know don’t know to feel, I don’t know if it’s real. It’s incredible.

“I struggled from the beginning, I couldn’t get him to travel and he was stumbling. Then I decided to get behind Mickael (Barzalona, on Horizon Dore) as I thought he was on the horse to beat, but then I though Oisin was looking good.

“He just found a second wind and he dug deep and the crowd were behind me. The last 100 yards I thought I was going to get there, not before then!

“What a feeling, the crowd! For the first race I thought the crowd were good but they took it to another level, it was honestly incredible.

“It’s a fairytale ending to me, Ascot is my home. I’m pretty emotional to be honest, but happy tears!”

Always calm and considered whatever the occasion, Varian conceded the ground was a concern.

“He’s a good horse isn’t he, a tough horse, but he’s run great all year,” said Varian.

“I was (worried about the ground), you have to be, it’s hard work and it’s tough. He’s done well to come from the back, very tough. It was a good performance, and a good ride and a good effort from the team. I haven’t really had a debrief, I’ve had plenty of hugs, but I think I’ll have to watch it again.

“He’s a very agile horse and I don’t think his size has stopped him. The ground is hard for all of them, but he has a big engine, big set of lungs and he’s got through the line – a big heart and a big effort.

“It was a tough watch and I spent most of it thinking, ‘they haven’t been making up ground all day, he could struggle from there’. He came off the bridle turning from home and I thought, ‘don’t drop out, don’t drop out’, and then I thought from the two pole, ‘actually he’s staying on’, and inside the final furlong he did look like he was going to get there.”

He added: “What a story and what a moment to be involved in for us and for everyone. What a great moment for racing.”

Amo Racing supremo Kia Joorabchian was quick to pay tribute to Dettori after guiding his string’s star performer to a deserved first Group One triumph.

He said: “I’m sorry, I’m so emotional. Frankie the king of Ascot, King Of Steel, he deserved that. What a ride, what a ride. Why is he retiring? What a ride. What an emotional moment, my family is here.

“I’m so happy for Frankie, he deserved this more than anything in the world. To finish like that, I mean, he called me and said, ‘can I ride King Of Steel’, and I said, ‘what can I say to that, of course you can’.

“It’s wonderful, what an incredible atmosphere and this is all for Frankie and he deserves it. What a career he has had and what an incredible performance.

“This guy (King Of Steel) deserves it too, he’s come second in the Derby and we’ve put him in some really tough tests and he’s come through and I’m so happy for the both of them. What an amazing training performance by Roger Varian and Alex Elliott who first bought the horse.”