Frankie Detorri's daughter Ella wants to make her Dad proud
‘I just want to make him proud’: Frankie Detorri’s daughter Ella admits she has ‘a lot to live up to’ when she makes her race-riding debut in the Magnolia Cup… but says she won’t copy her father’s trademark flying dismount if she wins
- Frankie Detorri’s daughter will make her race-riding debut in the Magnolia Cup
- She admitted having Britain’s famous jockey as a father adds more pressure
- The 20-year-old says she has a lot to live up to but wants her Dad to be proud
Frankie Dettori’s big ride of the week may be on Stradivarius in Tuesday’s Goodwood Cup but the three-time champion has an even bigger date in his diary when daughter Ella rides in Thursday’s Magnolia Cup.
It will be a race-riding debut in the charity contest for Ella, who admits having Britain’s best-known jockey as a father is heaping on the pressure.
Ella, 20, said: ‘It’s such a big stage and crowds are back so it is very nerve-wracking. I know it is a bit of fun for charity but I feel a bit of pressure and it is quite a daunting thing to do. I just want him to be proud. I feel like I have a lot to live up to and I’m trying not to stress myself out.’
Frankie Detorri pictured with his daughter Ella, who will make her race-riding debut in Thursday’s Mongolia Cup
Ella, who is aiming to go to university later this year to study medicine, took part in the Pony Club when growing up and has her own Event horses. But, despite the racing achievements of her father, she took little interest in racing until starting to ride out for Newmarket trainer Charlie Fellowes during the first Covid-19 lockdown last year.
Ella, who has been riding four lots six days a week for Fellowes, said: ‘The first three weeks of lockdown was sunny and lovely. But after that, with seven of us in the house, we just got so sick of each other and bored. Dad said, “Why don’t you try riding out?”
‘I have done quite a lot of riding but nothing to do with racing. I felt like people expected me to know what to do, Dad being who he is. I got put on my first racehorse and had to figure it out as I went along. It was terrifying!’
Three-time champion Detorri will first ride Stradivarius in Tuesday’s Goodwood Cup
Frankie has now sorted a mount for Ella on Robert Cowell-trained Green Door and rode alongside his daughter last week in her final big gallop before Thursday’s race.
Ella added: ‘Dad pretended he doesn’t want to be involved and then when I said I was riding in the race it was “right, I’m finding you a horse”. He is now giving me tips.’
It is appropriate Ella makes her debut at Goodwood, the track where Frankie rode his first winner on Lizzy Hare as a 16-year-old apprentice in 1987.
But if she wins there will be no attempt to copy her father’s trademark flying dismount. Ella said: ‘Definitely not. I get scared he is going to fall but he never does.’
The Magnolia Cup, presented by Markel, is in aid of Smart Works and has raised £1.6million since 2011.
The 20-year-old insisted she will not attempt to copy her father’s flying dismount if she wins
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