Goodwood VIDEO: Frankie wins race that gave him first winner... 29 years on

So often, the big days are his days - as witnessed by his stunning performances at last year’s Glorious Goodwood when he was the star man in the the first year of the Qatar Goodwood Festival.

Sometimes the low-key races and quieter meetings are not when he shines - but anyone who took that to mean he had no chance on board Altarsheed in the Sir Eric Parker Memorial Stakes at the second of the track’s Three Friday Nights fixtures could not have been more wrong.

He was lagging behind the rest of the field on the 9/2 chance early on and even at the halfway point didn’t look like troubling those dishing out the prize money.

But he brilliantly guided the Richard Hannon-trained three-year-old, owned by Hamdan Al Maktoum, through the field and hit the front exactly at the right moment to win in thrilling fashion, three-quarters of a length the winning distance between him and William Twiston-Davies on Paling.

Afterwards he revealed it was the same race - the mile and a quarter handicap - at the same meeting that had given him his first winner, Lizzy Hare, as a 16-year-old back in June 1987.

There might have been no flying dismount - he saves such shows for only the big races - but Dettori still got rapturous applause at the post-race presentation.

“Goodwood’s been lucky for me,” he told the crowd, overlooking the fact that, in return, Goodwood is also lucky... to have him still a regular in the weighing room.

See him take the plaudits in the video, above

He couldn’t follow it by making it a double in the next race, the Russian Standard Original Stakes, as his mount Al Khafji faded in the latter stages.

Instead John Fahy on the Clive Cox-trained Chelsea’s Boy (8/1) took the win in a photo finish from Nodachi (Oisin Murphy/Andrew Balding).

Mark Johnston is never far from success at Goodwood, especially with his two-year-olds, so it was no great surprise when the opener, the Free Month Trial of Racing UK Novice Auction Stakes, went to his runner Mistime (7/1) under Joe Fanning.

They took the win by two-and-a-half lengths from Martin Harley on the Mick Channon-trained King of Spades.

Hughie Morrison’s Pastoral Player claimed the Federation of Bloodstock Agents Apprentice Stakes under Charlie Bennett, just about holding off our tip, 5/4 favourite Easy Tiger and Louis Steward.

Steward went one better later on when he won the Bespoke Properties Maiden Stakes on Tukhoom, trained by Marcus Tregoning.

The six-race card was completed by the Mista Jam Stakes, won by Very Honest, ridden by Oisin Murphy for Epsom trainer Brett Johnson at a price of 8/1.

After racing, the crowd were entertained by a set by Radio 1 DJ Mistajam.

The Three Friday Nights series, now in its sixth year, concludes this week (June 17) with a sold-out night featuring Basement Jaxx.

STEVE BONE

See all the latest from Goodwood in the Chichester Observer every Thursday throughout the season

Don’t miss out on all the latest breaking news where you live.

Here are four ways you can be sure you’ll be amongst the first to know what’s going on.

1 Make this website your homepage

2 Like our Facebook page at facebook.com/pages/Sport-Sussex

3 Follow us on Twitter @SportSussex

4 Register with us by clicking on ‘sign in’ (top right corner). You can then receive our daily newsletter AND add your point of view to stories that you read here.

And do share with your family and friends - so they don’t miss out!