Amo Racing supremo Kia Joorabchian is hoping the purchase of Sir Michael Stoute’s Freemason Lodge and his recent sales spree can improve the health of British racing.
Joorabchian submitted a bid to buy the Newmarket yard last month with the intention of securing a larger premises for his Amo training center, which has been overseen by Raphael Freire from the 38-box Felstead Court Stables in Lambourn.
Joorabchian said: “We’re hoping to complete in the beginning of January and we’re very thrilled and honored to have it.
“We needed something like that because our situation in Lambourn was not very good for us anymore. It worked for the first couple of years when we were dipping our toes in the water and at this moment in time the operation has grown.
“We won’t really change the structure of the operation. We kept maybe 40 horses in Lambourn and we’ll keep maybe 50 at Freemason next year. We’ll continue with our group of trainers, but Raphael has definitely grown out of Lambourn. When this opportunity arose, we couldn’t turn it down.”
Freemason Lodge will be another colossal outlay for Joorabchian, who spent more than £24 million at Book 1 of the October Yearling Sale on 25 new recruits, eight of which were in partnership with others.
He also went to a record-equaling 2.5 million guineas for a sister to the 2023 Two Thousand Guineas (G1) winner Chaldean at the Tattersalls December Foal Sale, and is hoping his actions can generate excitement in the industry and trigger more investment in British racing.
Speaking on Charlie Fellowes’ and George Scott’s “Off The Bridle” podcast, he said: “I’m super excited for next year because I’m hoping we can show other people that they can also do it; injecting money into the business by investing into this business. Especially for me, what is very important is getting it right in England. British racing is suffering at the moment.
“It’s suffering with new blood coming into it, it’s suffering with prize money, it’s suffering with attendances and I think if we can inject a bit of life into it, and I hope we have created some excitement among everyone, even with the guys we’re working with and those we’re not, that the excitement will pay off.
“We’re trying to bring a lot of people in. You’ve seen in the past we’ve had some football players involved with us in horses, we’ve got some Americans hopefully, and we’re now partners with a few of those guys like Valmont and Al Shaqab, who we’ve bought horses jointly with.
“These kinds of things I hope will create more excitement, generate more cash and in the end I hope we can bring these racecourses back to a level where we can compete and people don’t need to say, ‘Hey, let’s go to France because the maiden is 30 grand.’ That’s the ultimate goal, and to get the sport up.”
While Freire is a key cog in the Amo wheel, Joorabchian has recently introduced Sir Mark Prescott and Scott to his training roster. Scott enjoyed group 2 wins with Isle of Jura and Bay City Roller in a career-best season in 2024, and the owner believes fresh talent needs to be supported.
He said: “A lot of people looked at me when I gave a horse who cost a lot of money in the sales to a young trainer, but if you never give those guys an opportunity, how do you know if they are going to be able to achieve? Most of these trainers can’t get the product. I’m trying to balance it out.
“I’ve got a couple of older trainers, and it was a lovely moment when I went to Sir Mark Prescott’s the other day. He was fabulous and I just wondered why I’d never had a horse with him. He started the conversation with, ‘I have just unbalanced your trainers’ ages!'”
Joorabchian is also planning to establish stronger links to bloodstock in Britain, and he added: “I would love to start my breeding operation in Britain—that’s my principal point. The more we can start breeding here, the more we can create enthusiasm, the better we are.”
Sir Mark Prescott at Heath House in Newmarket
