Frankie Dettori Exposes Family Struggles Behind His 18 Month Substance Ban in Piers Morgan Interview

Looking to conquer the Longchamp in Paris in September 2012, the horse racing world was shocked after hearing that iconic jockey Frankie Dettori tested positive for cocaine. However, he soon admitted the mistake, saying he was “ashamed and embarrassed“. Dettori’s license was banned for 6 months, but what followed in the next 18 months was even more heartbreaking. “For 18 months, I thought I was a leper“, he would later reveal in an interview.

As if the regret of eating him wasn’t enough, his family had to endure a lot, especially his kids at school. The harsh societal pressure prompted him to go on a family vacation but even that wasn’t enough as he exposes the struggle in the latest episode of Piers Morgan Uncensored.

Frankie Dettori reveals struggles post cocaine ban

“I was a silly boy“, says Frankie Dettori as he recalls his decade-old mistake in an interview with Piers Morgan. However, as he got banned, his family had to face a lot of trauma. ” They were getting bullied. They were getting picked out of school“, the 53-year-old revealed the reasons he had to flee in the shadow of family vacations. Like any other father or husband, no one would want his family to go through such a situation. When asked by Morgan how he felt, a subtle reply came, “Not great”.

But more than his children and wife, it was his parents that he was most ashamed of. “I think the biggest disappointment was telling my parents“, he expressed. However, the real test came after the ban ended. Dettori wasn’t able to get a ride for a whole year, let alone winning one. “Nobody would touch me”, he shares. Things got so escalated that even his wife started doubting him, or rather challenging him to prove himself once again. While he felt ‘terrible’, his wife told him the famous phrase, “Show me how good you are“.

Despite being “shot in the heart”, Dettori rose above

It was time when Frankie Dettori’s finances took a hit. While the famous phrase was said during the argument, his feelings were “somebody shot me in the heart“. It really would to anybody when hearing these words coming from your close ones. But he rose above the challenge and soon proved how good how he was.

READ MORE: After Exiting the Jungle, Frankie Dettori Embarks on a Snowy Adventure

On last day of May 2013, the tide finally turned in Dettori’s favor. He finally rode and triumphed in the Epsom derby aboard Golden Horn, and that ended his year-long struggles. Later at night, Dettori proudly announced to his wife, “Do you remember what you said to me a year ago. Don’t ask me again. I’ve done it now“. And it’s a story that will go on in the folklore of horse racing.

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