Frankie Dettori: ‘I use perfume four times a day’

It takes me a lot less time to get ready than it takes my wife. I just have a shower, use some Lynx deodorant, moisturise my face and put a bit of wax in my hair. I’m very, very keen on perfume (currently Gucci by Gucci) and use it four times a day. My wife thinks I’m obsessed.

With my 5ft 4in frame, I haven’t got the range of clothes of a normal-sized person, so I stay with Italian designers – Armani, Gucci, Prada – because Italians are smaller than English people. I do enjoy dressing up; it makes me feel that I’m doing something important, even though it’s just sport.

Part of the appeal of horse racing is that everyone makes an effort, so you mingle with well-dressed men and women. My dad was a champion jockey in Italy, and my mother was very strict about me keeping up with the family look. Even at a young age, I wore a jacket, trousers and smart shoes.

I have about 15 pairs of very expensive leather shoes – it’s one of the ways I treat myself. My son Leo is 16 and he used to wear all my clothes, but he’s too big now, thankfully. I have a very flamboyant side – I have a white suit, a mustard suit: it’s part of my culture. I have a grey one, too, for normal business, or to meet the Queen.

In the 1990s, I had an Al Pacino look, with my hair slicked back. It was a pain, because I had to gel it all the time. Now I wear it short, because I spend most of the day with a helmet on. I have a few more wrinkles than I used to; I work outside, so I’m weathered. If you don’t get old it, means you’re dead, so what do you do? Plus wrinkles can look rather good on a man.