THERE might not have been any flying dismounts at Killarney on Wednesday, something the good-sized crowd clearly craved, but Frankie Dettori certainly gave them value for money and added a touch of Italian glamour to the all-flat card.

The 48-year-old jockey even managed to charm the weather gods, much to manager Philip O’Brien’s relief as the constant morning downpours gave way to a misty drizzle, followed by welcome snatches of warm sunshine as the action got underway.

Racegoers were slow to come through the gates initially but there was no shortage of fans in waiting by the time the racecourse announced that Frankie’s flight had touched down in Farranfore and he was on his way.

False alarms

Camera phones at the ready, the crowd waited patiently in the outdoor seated area near the prosecco van. There were several false alarms as a couple of helicopters came in to land and cars drove past the weigh room but suddenly the great man was there.

The larger than usual security presence around Dettori was the obvious give away but his arrival came as a surprise. With the throng swarming around him, it was hard to spot Frankie but racing photographer Pat Healy doubled up as MC by announcing the man himself.

Healy, a man who prides himself on being close to the great and good of the racing world, solved the mystery by revealing: “They wanted someone who knew Frankie to pick him up at the airport, break the ice and fill him in on local knowledge.

“A flight came in from Frankfurt soon after his and all the passengers were wondering what was going on. He’s box office!”

Autographs

Dettori, who was busy signing the first of many autographs at this stage, had already walked the track by now, as the turn-ups on his sharp suit and change of footwear indicated to the keen observer. He and his wife Catherine also fitted in the traditional jaunt from just outside the racecourse in Kevin Tagnui’s jarvey, driving right up through the enclosures to the weigh room.

Kerry natives Tommy Stack, Red Rum’s former jockey and veteran Killarney pharmacist and racing enthusiast Donie Sheahan were the first to shake hands with the jockey.

When asked later what he had said to Frankie, Donie replied: “I said ‘welcome to Killarney. I’m the oldest patron here at 93 and he looked at me again! I then wished him all the best.”

Stack added: “He’ll get some reception if he rides a winner – it’s a great initiative.”

Frankie, who first rode in Kerry in 1998 at Tralee (a winner for John Oxx and Sheikh Mohammed on Allotrope) then removed his designer shades and walked straight into the weigh room to escape the clamour. His first impressions? “At the moment all is good – I can’t wait to get started.”

Dettori was riding market drifter Time Tunnel for Dermot Weld in the second race and he headed the jockeys as they filed out into the parade ring. His adoring public were waiting and cheered him on his way.

Dave Keena interviews Frankie Dettori in front of a packed enclosure at Killarney Racecourse \ Healy Racing

Patriotic racegoers

The more patriotic racegoers reacted by cheering the Irish riders as the approached the ring, “just so they didn’t feel left out,” in the words of one of the security men.

Ken Whelan, deputising for Robbie Irwin who was at a wedding, did his best to make a case for the Juddmonte Farms-owned filly with the comment: “She has solid form but has to make the best of a bad draw and can be tricky at times, as you can see from the headgear (visor) on her.”

Tom Madden, however, reeled in Dettori’s mount close home to spoil the party with Jessica Harrington’s Tauran Shaman, a colt he subsequently described as “a big baby still with a good attitude”.

A quick change into Hamdan Al Maktoum’s blue and white colours half an hour later failed to change Frankie’s luck in the Sauternes Cup Rated Race, a race in which Weld’s previous course winner Mujid was chinned by Ballydoyle’s 8/1 chance Turnberry Isle.

Edged out

The hype really got going in the listed race, where Dettori was on board Lady Wannabe for Fozzy Stack. She battled it out all the way to the line with Viadera and there was little to choose between the pair until Viadera edged out her rival by a short-head to give Colin Keane the middle leg of a treble.

It was heart-breaking stuff for punters but Killarney mother Janelle Moriarty’s six-and-a-half-year-old daughter Aoibhean was more interested in getting a selfie with the Kerry Rose than Frankie who found himself among the Roses at a later stage of the evening.

Another young racing fan was hoping to get Frankie’s autograph but, due to security restrictions, had to settle for a pair of Colm O’Donoghue’s goggles instead. The conversation around Jim O’Brien’s wood-fired pizza oven Mia Pizza, seeking to cash in on the Italian theme of the evening and doing brisk business, was returning to beef prices and the dilemma of an elderly relation not being allowed to drive any longer after a hospital stay by the time Dettori did his Q and A session on the balcony.

He couldn’t do enough for the public, signing yet more autographs and posing for photographs. “Just one more photograph,” pleaded a parent but the jockey had moved on to Killarney itself by then, reflecting: “It’s a very fair track that rides well and it’s in a beautiful setting. The people couldn’t be nicer, they’re very welcoming and I’ve really enjoyed myself.”

With Frankie drawing a blank for his good friend Johnny Murtagh in the sixth race, it was left to bookmaker Noel Cummins to sum up the atmosphere on a day that the Frankie factor prevailed on a better day for the betting ring. He said: “They all wanted his autograph but I think they forgot to bring their handbags!”