Amo Racing have given us plenty of talking points since entering the UK racing market, and it seems as though Kia Joorabchian is not going to slow up anytime soon.
He wants to go to the top of the sport and is splashing the cash in order to do that. However, one key missing piece of the puzzle has been there, though that could be about to change.
They’ve never had a base that’s both of high quality and big enough to handle their expansion, something that could be about the change.
At the end of the flat season, Sir Michael Stoute announced he would be retiring from training racehorses, meaning his Freemason Lodge complex would be going on the market.
🚨 BREAKING: AMO Racing owned by Kia Joorabchian have emerged as the front runner to acquire Freemason Lodge from Sir Michael Stoute via @nickluck 🟣
— Stephen R Power (@racingblogger) November 12, 2024
News came out in October that Joorabchian has made an offer to buy the property, and recent indications have been that the talks have moved along nicely, with a move into the property expected to come in 2025.
Freemason Lodge Would Give Amo Racing Facilities to Match Ambition
Should this move go ahead, for the first time since coming into the UK market, Amo Racing would have facilities that matched their ambition. Nothing would be able to hold them back. They’d have a strong yard, fantastic facilities, the space to keep buying, and seemingly with a trainer who they want to back.
The idea would be that Raphael Friere, who currently trains for them in Lambourn, would move into Freemason Lodge, take his current string and then be able to add to it with further purchases from the sales.
Friere currently trains in Lambourn at a yard that has been the home of Amo Racing for the past two years. But it only holds 37 boxes, and if they want to really step up and compete against the bigger boys, then Amo Racing need more room.
Amo Racing Show Plans with Sales Spending
The costs to buy and train racehorses are very big, and that’s without the initial price to purchase a runner. If you want a look at how seriously Joorabchian is taking his racing investment, then you only need to look at the recent sales purchases he’s been making.
Led by a 4,400,000 gns purchase, a son of Wootton Bassett, Joorabchian, would spend a total of $20 million at the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale, the biggest sale for young horses in the UK.
Joorabchian wants to compete with Coolmore and Godolphin in the future, but without their breeding programs, he has to spend a large amount of money at the sales to compete for now until everything else is up to speed.
Looking into the future, you have to assume that a breeding operation is part of the plans because spending so much at the sales is not a strategy that is sustainable in the long term.
You cannot help but think that Joorabchian had the move to Freemason Lodge in mind when he spent his big money at the sales, and 2025 could be a massive year for his operation.
Record-breaking sales figures in 2024, horses ready to run in 2025, a move to a new facility that can keep up with the investment and willingness to grow, and all of it with Raphael Friere seemingly trusted to be the man in charge of training them all.
We’ve seen Amo Racing take some of the limelight, but in terms of being a credible threat to the top two in British flat racing, 2025 could be the year when they make that move.
