Ebor Festival: Frankie Dettori looks to surpass Lester Piggott's Juddmonte International total at York

Frankie Dettori’s farewell to Knavesmire provides one of the highlights of the week, with the livewire Italian looking to add to his 66 winners at the Ebor dating back to his very first visit in 1990.

While one staple of the meeting bids farewell, there is plenty of familiarity about the make-up of the card over the next four days.

“I always tell people this Festival has the richest, the oldest, the longest, the fastest and the ‘famousist’ of races all in one week,” smiles James Brennan, the course’s head of marketing and sponsorship.

The meeting kicks-off on Wednesday with the richest, the Juddmonte International, which carries a prize fund of £1m.

The longest is the Weatherbys Hamilton Lonsdale Cup Stakes on Friday, on the same day the fastest race takes place, the Coolmore Nunthorpe Stakes over five furlongs.

Then, of course, comes the highlight on Saturday, the oldest and most famous, the Sky Bet Ebor.

“It’s a huge meeting for us, a week to get excited about,” adds Brennan.

“And on Thursday it’s ladies day on and off the course, with four of the seven races for female horses.”

Victory for Dettori on Mostahdaf in Wednesday’s Juddmonte International would make him the most successful jockey in the race’s illustrious history.

Dettori currently sits alongside the legendary Lester Piggott on five wins apiece, and the Italian has one more chance to make the record his own before he heads off into retirement.

“I’ve been lucky enough to enjoy some great days of racing at York over the years, including winning the St Leger there on Sixties Icon whilst the stands were being rebuilt at Doncaster,” said Dettori.

“The Juddmonte has been a lucky race for me too. I’ve won it with some of the greats like Sakhee, the Derby winner Authorized, Sulamani, Halling and Singspiel. They were all serious horses, and hopefully Mostahdaf is too.”