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As Kia Joorabchian walks north up Madison Avenue his voice competes to be heard against the familiar New York backdrop of car horns. Sunlight bounces off the buildings and steam rises from the ground. There is nothing unusual about this Manhattan morning. For the man strolling towards Central Park, a brief return to normality is no doubt a welcome relief.
For Joorabchian, there is nothing more normal than sport. Plans for the rest of the day include heading to an NFL game but there will also be time spent watching a Premier League match, which is hardly surprising given his professional life is dominated by football. Joorabchian's Sports Invest UK Limited represents some of the world's most famous players and clubs in contract negotiations and transfers. Yet it was in the world of equine transfers that he recently made huge headlines.
Joorabchian sent shockwaves through the bloodstock industry when spending more than £24 million on yearlings – more than either Coolmore or Sheikh Mohammed's Godolphin – at Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale. A total of 25 horses were bought on behalf of the 53-year-old's Amo Racing and in partnerships with a range of investors, among them Sheikh Joaan Al Thani, Anthony Ramsden and Valmont.
Having been involved in racing as an owner for 21 years, Joorabchian is no stranger to sales ring action, but having previously made just the odd splash this was a tsunami. Three seven-figure purchases on the auction's opening day were headed by two Frankel fillies, one of them costing a whopping £4.62m. After a slight pause for breath on day two, Joorabchian once again dug deep on the sale's final day, going to £4.52m for a son of Coolmore stallion Wootton Bassett which made him the most expensive yearling colt in European history.
Kia Joorabchian (right) celebrates King Of Steel's success with Frankie Dettori (centre) and Roger Varian
Kia Joorabchian celebrates with Frankie Dettori and Roger Varian following King Of Steel's Champion Stakes triumph
Credit: Mark Cranham
Some or all of the Newmarket purchases will next year begin their careers in the predominantly purple silks of Amo, the operation that became its founder's racing wing in 2017. Over the following seven years, Joorabchian has seen his colours carried to victory in more than 200 races in Britain, the most important of them being last year's Champion Stakes, in which Amo's second Derby runner-up King Of Steel sparked rapturous scenes when providing Frankie Dettori with the perfect farewell to British racing.
It is when Joorabchian has been the one saying goodbye that much of the coverage around him has centred. David Egan is coming to the end of the first half of a two-year contract as Amo's retained rider, a role previously held by Rossa Ryan and Kevin Stott. Many trainers have stayed on the books but others have come and gone, or, in the case of Ralph Beckett, come, gone and come back. One of those now out of the fold is Roger Varian, whose entire string of Amo horses was taken away this summer.
Beckett, Sir Mark Prescott and Karl Burke have been assigned some of the choicest members of the Tattersalls shopping spree, yet it is not just in Britain and Ireland – Bucanero Fuerte last year become Amo's first Group 1 winner in the Phoenix Stakes – that Joorabchian has significant bloodstock interests. The US is home to between 50 and 60 of his thoroughbreds, adding to the many reasons for him to make regular trips across the Atlantic.
"New York is probably my favourite city in the world," says Joorabchian. "I love being here. I know it sounds strange because New York is a crazy city, but I feel very at peace here."
Kia Joorabchian, pictured on a rainy day at Newmarket last year
Kia Joorabchian pictured on a rainy day at Newmarket last year
Credit: Edward Whitaker
He also loves London, the place he calls home and where he has spent most of a life that began in Tehran in July 1971. His entrepreneur father lost everything during the 1979 Iranian revolution, as a result of which the family relocated to England. After studying business and chemistry at the University of London, Joorabchian began working for his father before heading out on his own. He started an investment company, sold it for a handsome sum and then hit another jackpot when meeting sporting icon Pele, who advised him to pump money into football.
It proved to be good advice. Joorabchian's success in the beautiful game – he was pivotal to West Ham signing Argentinian internationals Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano in 2006 – has enabled him to increase his foothold in another sport. What happened last month made it clear racing is now far more than just a hobby.
"There comes a point when you realise you're spending a lot of money and a lot of time but ending up frustrated," says Joorabchian. "We had been having fun, buying five to ten horses and trying to win a couple of races, but when you're doing it that way you need a lot of luck. We now have a lot of experience and I know we've made lots of mistakes. It wasn't until we were in a position where I felt we understood our mistakes that I had the confidence to invest."
It was amid the jubilation of Dettori's heroics on King Of Steel that Joorabchian determined to change tack. The euphoria of the moment did not alter his less rosy perspective on one aspect of the sport.
"I think racing has so much potential but, for me, it's almost dying a bit in the UK," he says. "There is no competition. It has always really been a two-man race in the sales ring.
"The biggest difference between the American and European sales is the American market is open and huge. In America you can compete and buy the best pedigrees. The competition is fair, whereas the best horses here end up going back to the big players because they already own a chunk of them when they go into the ring. A horse might have been bought for £2.5m but the buyer was paying 50 cents to the dollar, so really the horse cost £1.25m. That distorts things and disappoints other people."
Kia Joorabchian has been spending big this week
Kia Joorabchian: "The biggest difference between the American and European sales is the American market is open and huge"
Credit: Keeneland photo
Joorabchian is one of those it has disappointed, as he made clear soon after Book 1 when arguing that the task of buying the best bloodlines was made harder by rivals having foal shares, the perfectly legal and widely recognised practice of a stud providing a free nomination to a stallion and then owning half the resulting foal when the animal goes through the ring.
Asked about Joorabchian's commentary on foal shares, Coolmore's MV Magnier insists the arrangements were often much less simple than people might think, with the people trying to buy a horse often different to those selling a share of the horse, even when that might not be immediately apparent.
"Foal shares have been happening since the days of Northern Dancer," says Magnier, adding: "The way we see it, everyone is starting out on a level playing field."
Joorabchian continues to feel it is not as level as it ought to be, yet that did not curtail his activities at Tattersalls, where he was joined by agents Alex Elliott, Ben McElroy and Robson Aguiar.
"We were meticulous in how we produced our shortlist," says Joorabchian. "Every night we sat around a table until 11pm or midnight, going through the horses. On the Wednesday night one of the guys said to me we had already achieved a lot and didn't have to go crazy on the final day. I said to them if we didn't get our three Thursday targets, our entire week would have been a failure and a disaster.
"At the start of the week I told my team we had to change things, but to do that you have to demonstrate you can fight and win, on and off the pitch. I told them if we loved a horse we had to try to buy that horse, but when I was walking around the Wootton Bassett yearling, people in my team were telling me to forget about him. I think 99 per cent of people would have walked off in those circumstances.
"Nobody knew how far I was prepared to go. The people around me kept saying, 'We've got to stop now. This is going too far'. In a sense, they were right because we did go over and beyond to achieve our goals, but without doing that we can't break through."
The Wootton Bassett colt out of Park Bloom sells for 4,300,000gns on Thursday
The record-breaking Wootton Bassett yearling bought by Amo Racing
Credit: Laura Green
Asked what he was feeling when signing for the multi-million-pound lots, Joorabchian delivers an entirely reasonable answer.
"God, I hope we haven't bought a dud," he says, following it up with a laugh. The showpiece contest staged at the end of Book 1 week caused him no hilarity.
"The Dewhurst was a big eye-opener for me," he says. "There were five runners, two of them for Godolphin and two for Coolmore. All four Godolphin and Coolmore runners were homebreds. What chance does everybody else have?
"How boring would it be if every FA Cup final and every Champions League final was between Manchester City and Liverpool? I think if we can change the market, your Coolmores, Godolphins and Juddmontes will benefit. In a more open, free market, they will still be able to compete but people will be happier to invest.
"The twice I've been beaten into second in the Derby it was by horses owned by Godolphin and Coolmore. My financial capability wouldn't be one-hundredth of theirs. I could never imagine competing with them unless I brought in investors and got creative."
Joorabchian claims never to comment on individual investors but agrees their backing was essential in allowing him to spend extraordinary sums of money.
Sheikh Joaan: the co-owner of Al Shaqab is 31
Sheikh Joaan Al Thani is among those who have joined forces with Kia Joorabchian
Credit: Edward Whitaker
"I think investment is important when you're trying to compete in any sport," he says. "You need a group of people who are ambitious and share the same vision. It was important for me to bring in people who understand sport and who understand failure as much as they understand winning because in no sport do you win all the time.
"If I go into battle in the sales ring against Coolmore, it's me against four, five or six billionaires. There is no way for me to get into that sort of market unless I build a portfolio of people. I knew I needed to put together a group of people who would say, 'Let's have a fight'."
Those connected to Joorabchian make it clear the Amo leader is ready for the challenge. They describe him as tough and generous but capable of volatility. "With Kia, you're never too far from some sort of disruption," says one racing figure who knows him, while another suggests some of his interactions with trainers have felt more akin to how a smarting football manager might talk to an underperforming player.
Joorabchian believes elements of his public image bear little resemblance to the truth, in particular his supposed readiness to wield the axe.
"People say to me I've sacked people but my core team has not changed for seven, eight, nine, ten years," he insists. "Of my core trainers, I think I've only lost one and I've never fired a jockey. I didn't renew contracts, but that's different. Rossa Ryan is now one of the best jockeys in the world, someone I consider to be a member of my family. Kevin Stott did a good job for me but I decided not to renew his contract. David Egan has one more year of his contract left and then we'll see."
Joorabchian adds: "It takes time for people to understand each other. With most of my trainers, it has been about understanding our personalities and how we work, their benefits, my benefits, their negatives, my negatives.
"I'm not here to tell people how to train. I just monitor how things are going. The things I do expect from all of them are updates and communication. I want them to tell me everything that's happening. I want the truth. If a horse is injured or has scoped badly or had bad blood results, I just want to be told the truth.
"Don't hide things from me. If you hide something from me, I'm gone, I'm done, and you won't see me again. I can't make a judgement if someone is hiding something from me. Just tell the truth."
Adrian Murray: could run Crypto Force in Sunday's G1 Prix Ganay
Adrian Murray has enjoyed success alongside Kia Joorabchian
Credit: Patrick McCann
Among Joorabchian's trainers in 2024 have been Adrian Murray and Dominic Ffrench Davis, neither of whom had posted a Group winner until sent horses by Amo. Indeed, Murray revealed to Joorabchian he had never even been to Ascot prior to Valiant Force springing a 150-1 shock in last season's Norfolk Stakes.
"To see someone whose dreams are coming true gives me a real boost," says Joorabchian. "Adrian is the nicest person you could ever meet and Dom is an experienced, talented trainer who helped us a lot in the beginning."
Ffrench Davis currently has no horses for Amo, whose Lambourn string is in the care of Raphael Freire. Along with the likes of George Boughey, George Scott and Charlie Johnston, the Brazilian – a compatriot of the Ireland-based Aguiar – brings youth to the operation's training squad.
"I'm building something and I want people to build it with me," says Joorabchian. "Some of these young guys have never had a chance like this. I'm giving them that chance. It's down to them to take that chance."
Central Park is now to the left of Joorabchian, who with a Starbucks skimmed milk cappuccino in hand, refutes the notion people find him both fascinating and mysterious, views that might have been heightened by his creation in 2022 of Omnihorse, a cryptocurrency ownership initiative that was launched with much fanfare but abandoned in its initial guise the following year.
"I'm not sure there is any fascination about me," he says. "My businesses could not be more public and open. In football you can't sneeze without someone knowing about it. There is no air of mystery about me. I am who I am."
Mysterious or not, he is the person who caused a sensation at Europe's premier yearling sale. He remains adamant his objectives are rooted in a desire to help the sport. A central figure to one of the organisations he is seeking to challenge is in full agreement.
Kia Joorabchian: gave our man some insightful quotes after spending big at Book 1
Kia Joorabchian talks with bloodstock agent Alex Elliott at Tattersalls
Credit: Laura Green
"Kia is an absolute gentleman who is doing what he's doing for the good of racing," says Magnier.
"We tried our hardest to buy yearlings in Book 1 and were underbidders for ten or 12 horses. If we're not winning the races, I hope he is because it's very important Kia and groups that put a huge amount of money into the market get results. We genuinely hope they do well."
Asked if he could offer any advice to Joorabchian, Magnier adds: "There are lots of ups and downs in this business. You have to take them together and enjoy it, regardless of what happens."
On the racecourse this year there has been less for Joorabchian to enjoy than in 2023, with the quantity and quality of his winners in Britain dropping.
"The last year has been a bit stressful for me," he says. "I haven't enjoyed it as much as previous years. I love the sport, though, and I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't. I would buy a beach house in the Bahamas and relax."
How, then, will he measure the success of his plan to shake up the sales and therefore also the sport?
"I think what we are doing will be beneficial to Coolmore and Godolphin," he says. "We want to see a more open market, more competition and more variety. I don't think it's a disruptive development.
"For Amo, we want success. We're not making this investment to fail. We want to compete at the highest level. I hope the horses we've bought will be successful. I hope they will become a stepping stone to another and another and another."
This column is exclusive to Members' Club Ultimate subscribers. Read more pieces from Lee Mottershead here:
For Joorabchian, there is nothing more normal than sport. Plans for the rest of the day include heading to an NFL game but there will also be time spent watching a Premier League match, which is hardly surprising given his professional life is dominated by football. Joorabchian's Sports Invest UK Limited represents some of the world's most famous players and clubs in contract negotiations and transfers. Yet it was in the world of equine transfers that he recently made huge headlines.
Joorabchian sent shockwaves through the bloodstock industry when spending more than £24 million on yearlings – more than either Coolmore or Sheikh Mohammed's Godolphin – at Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale. A total of 25 horses were bought on behalf of the 53-year-old's Amo Racing and in partnerships with a range of investors, among them Sheikh Joaan Al Thani, Anthony Ramsden and Valmont.
Having been involved in racing as an owner for 21 years, Joorabchian is no stranger to sales ring action, but having previously made just the odd splash this was a tsunami. Three seven-figure purchases on the auction's opening day were headed by two Frankel fillies, one of them costing a whopping £4.62m. After a slight pause for breath on day two, Joorabchian once again dug deep on the sale's final day, going to £4.52m for a son of Coolmore stallion Wootton Bassett which made him the most expensive yearling colt in European history.
Kia Joorabchian (right) celebrates King Of Steel's success with Frankie Dettori (centre) and Roger Varian
Kia Joorabchian celebrates with Frankie Dettori and Roger Varian following King Of Steel's Champion Stakes triumph
Credit: Mark Cranham
Some or all of the Newmarket purchases will next year begin their careers in the predominantly purple silks of Amo, the operation that became its founder's racing wing in 2017. Over the following seven years, Joorabchian has seen his colours carried to victory in more than 200 races in Britain, the most important of them being last year's Champion Stakes, in which Amo's second Derby runner-up King Of Steel sparked rapturous scenes when providing Frankie Dettori with the perfect farewell to British racing.
It is when Joorabchian has been the one saying goodbye that much of the coverage around him has centred. David Egan is coming to the end of the first half of a two-year contract as Amo's retained rider, a role previously held by Rossa Ryan and Kevin Stott. Many trainers have stayed on the books but others have come and gone, or, in the case of Ralph Beckett, come, gone and come back. One of those now out of the fold is Roger Varian, whose entire string of Amo horses was taken away this summer.
Beckett, Sir Mark Prescott and Karl Burke have been assigned some of the choicest members of the Tattersalls shopping spree, yet it is not just in Britain and Ireland – Bucanero Fuerte last year become Amo's first Group 1 winner in the Phoenix Stakes – that Joorabchian has significant bloodstock interests. The US is home to between 50 and 60 of his thoroughbreds, adding to the many reasons for him to make regular trips across the Atlantic.
"New York is probably my favourite city in the world," says Joorabchian. "I love being here. I know it sounds strange because New York is a crazy city, but I feel very at peace here."
Kia Joorabchian, pictured on a rainy day at Newmarket last year
Kia Joorabchian pictured on a rainy day at Newmarket last year
Credit: Edward Whitaker
He also loves London, the place he calls home and where he has spent most of a life that began in Tehran in July 1971. His entrepreneur father lost everything during the 1979 Iranian revolution, as a result of which the family relocated to England. After studying business and chemistry at the University of London, Joorabchian began working for his father before heading out on his own. He started an investment company, sold it for a handsome sum and then hit another jackpot when meeting sporting icon Pele, who advised him to pump money into football.
It proved to be good advice. Joorabchian's success in the beautiful game – he was pivotal to West Ham signing Argentinian internationals Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano in 2006 – has enabled him to increase his foothold in another sport. What happened last month made it clear racing is now far more than just a hobby.
"There comes a point when you realise you're spending a lot of money and a lot of time but ending up frustrated," says Joorabchian. "We had been having fun, buying five to ten horses and trying to win a couple of races, but when you're doing it that way you need a lot of luck. We now have a lot of experience and I know we've made lots of mistakes. It wasn't until we were in a position where I felt we understood our mistakes that I had the confidence to invest."
It was amid the jubilation of Dettori's heroics on King Of Steel that Joorabchian determined to change tack. The euphoria of the moment did not alter his less rosy perspective on one aspect of the sport.
"I think racing has so much potential but, for me, it's almost dying a bit in the UK," he says. "There is no competition. It has always really been a two-man race in the sales ring.
"The biggest difference between the American and European sales is the American market is open and huge. In America you can compete and buy the best pedigrees. The competition is fair, whereas the best horses here end up going back to the big players because they already own a chunk of them when they go into the ring. A horse might have been bought for £2.5m but the buyer was paying 50 cents to the dollar, so really the horse cost £1.25m. That distorts things and disappoints other people."
Kia Joorabchian has been spending big this week
Kia Joorabchian: "The biggest difference between the American and European sales is the American market is open and huge"
Credit: Keeneland photo
Joorabchian is one of those it has disappointed, as he made clear soon after Book 1 when arguing that the task of buying the best bloodlines was made harder by rivals having foal shares, the perfectly legal and widely recognised practice of a stud providing a free nomination to a stallion and then owning half the resulting foal when the animal goes through the ring.
Asked about Joorabchian's commentary on foal shares, Coolmore's MV Magnier insists the arrangements were often much less simple than people might think, with the people trying to buy a horse often different to those selling a share of the horse, even when that might not be immediately apparent.
"Foal shares have been happening since the days of Northern Dancer," says Magnier, adding: "The way we see it, everyone is starting out on a level playing field."
Joorabchian continues to feel it is not as level as it ought to be, yet that did not curtail his activities at Tattersalls, where he was joined by agents Alex Elliott, Ben McElroy and Robson Aguiar.
"We were meticulous in how we produced our shortlist," says Joorabchian. "Every night we sat around a table until 11pm or midnight, going through the horses. On the Wednesday night one of the guys said to me we had already achieved a lot and didn't have to go crazy on the final day. I said to them if we didn't get our three Thursday targets, our entire week would have been a failure and a disaster.
"At the start of the week I told my team we had to change things, but to do that you have to demonstrate you can fight and win, on and off the pitch. I told them if we loved a horse we had to try to buy that horse, but when I was walking around the Wootton Bassett yearling, people in my team were telling me to forget about him. I think 99 per cent of people would have walked off in those circumstances.
"Nobody knew how far I was prepared to go. The people around me kept saying, 'We've got to stop now. This is going too far'. In a sense, they were right because we did go over and beyond to achieve our goals, but without doing that we can't break through."
The Wootton Bassett colt out of Park Bloom sells for 4,300,000gns on Thursday
The record-breaking Wootton Bassett yearling bought by Amo Racing
Credit: Laura Green
Asked what he was feeling when signing for the multi-million-pound lots, Joorabchian delivers an entirely reasonable answer.
"God, I hope we haven't bought a dud," he says, following it up with a laugh. The showpiece contest staged at the end of Book 1 week caused him no hilarity.
"The Dewhurst was a big eye-opener for me," he says. "There were five runners, two of them for Godolphin and two for Coolmore. All four Godolphin and Coolmore runners were homebreds. What chance does everybody else have?
"How boring would it be if every FA Cup final and every Champions League final was between Manchester City and Liverpool? I think if we can change the market, your Coolmores, Godolphins and Juddmontes will benefit. In a more open, free market, they will still be able to compete but people will be happier to invest.
"The twice I've been beaten into second in the Derby it was by horses owned by Godolphin and Coolmore. My financial capability wouldn't be one-hundredth of theirs. I could never imagine competing with them unless I brought in investors and got creative."
Joorabchian claims never to comment on individual investors but agrees their backing was essential in allowing him to spend extraordinary sums of money.
Sheikh Joaan: the co-owner of Al Shaqab is 31
Sheikh Joaan Al Thani is among those who have joined forces with Kia Joorabchian
Credit: Edward Whitaker
"I think investment is important when you're trying to compete in any sport," he says. "You need a group of people who are ambitious and share the same vision. It was important for me to bring in people who understand sport and who understand failure as much as they understand winning because in no sport do you win all the time.
"If I go into battle in the sales ring against Coolmore, it's me against four, five or six billionaires. There is no way for me to get into that sort of market unless I build a portfolio of people. I knew I needed to put together a group of people who would say, 'Let's have a fight'."
Those connected to Joorabchian make it clear the Amo leader is ready for the challenge. They describe him as tough and generous but capable of volatility. "With Kia, you're never too far from some sort of disruption," says one racing figure who knows him, while another suggests some of his interactions with trainers have felt more akin to how a smarting football manager might talk to an underperforming player.
Joorabchian believes elements of his public image bear little resemblance to the truth, in particular his supposed readiness to wield the axe.
"People say to me I've sacked people but my core team has not changed for seven, eight, nine, ten years," he insists. "Of my core trainers, I think I've only lost one and I've never fired a jockey. I didn't renew contracts, but that's different. Rossa Ryan is now one of the best jockeys in the world, someone I consider to be a member of my family. Kevin Stott did a good job for me but I decided not to renew his contract. David Egan has one more year of his contract left and then we'll see."
Joorabchian adds: "It takes time for people to understand each other. With most of my trainers, it has been about understanding our personalities and how we work, their benefits, my benefits, their negatives, my negatives.
"I'm not here to tell people how to train. I just monitor how things are going. The things I do expect from all of them are updates and communication. I want them to tell me everything that's happening. I want the truth. If a horse is injured or has scoped badly or had bad blood results, I just want to be told the truth.
"Don't hide things from me. If you hide something from me, I'm gone, I'm done, and you won't see me again. I can't make a judgement if someone is hiding something from me. Just tell the truth."
Adrian Murray: could run Crypto Force in Sunday's G1 Prix Ganay
Adrian Murray has enjoyed success alongside Kia Joorabchian
Credit: Patrick McCann
Among Joorabchian's trainers in 2024 have been Adrian Murray and Dominic Ffrench Davis, neither of whom had posted a Group winner until sent horses by Amo. Indeed, Murray revealed to Joorabchian he had never even been to Ascot prior to Valiant Force springing a 150-1 shock in last season's Norfolk Stakes.
"To see someone whose dreams are coming true gives me a real boost," says Joorabchian. "Adrian is the nicest person you could ever meet and Dom is an experienced, talented trainer who helped us a lot in the beginning."
Ffrench Davis currently has no horses for Amo, whose Lambourn string is in the care of Raphael Freire. Along with the likes of George Boughey, George Scott and Charlie Johnston, the Brazilian – a compatriot of the Ireland-based Aguiar – brings youth to the operation's training squad.
"I'm building something and I want people to build it with me," says Joorabchian. "Some of these young guys have never had a chance like this. I'm giving them that chance. It's down to them to take that chance."
Central Park is now to the left of Joorabchian, who with a Starbucks skimmed milk cappuccino in hand, refutes the notion people find him both fascinating and mysterious, views that might have been heightened by his creation in 2022 of Omnihorse, a cryptocurrency ownership initiative that was launched with much fanfare but abandoned in its initial guise the following year.
"I'm not sure there is any fascination about me," he says. "My businesses could not be more public and open. In football you can't sneeze without someone knowing about it. There is no air of mystery about me. I am who I am."
Mysterious or not, he is the person who caused a sensation at Europe's premier yearling sale. He remains adamant his objectives are rooted in a desire to help the sport. A central figure to one of the organisations he is seeking to challenge is in full agreement.
Kia Joorabchian: gave our man some insightful quotes after spending big at Book 1
Kia Joorabchian talks with bloodstock agent Alex Elliott at Tattersalls
Credit: Laura Green
"Kia is an absolute gentleman who is doing what he's doing for the good of racing," says Magnier.
"We tried our hardest to buy yearlings in Book 1 and were underbidders for ten or 12 horses. If we're not winning the races, I hope he is because it's very important Kia and groups that put a huge amount of money into the market get results. We genuinely hope they do well."
Asked if he could offer any advice to Joorabchian, Magnier adds: "There are lots of ups and downs in this business. You have to take them together and enjoy it, regardless of what happens."
On the racecourse this year there has been less for Joorabchian to enjoy than in 2023, with the quantity and quality of his winners in Britain dropping.
"The last year has been a bit stressful for me," he says. "I haven't enjoyed it as much as previous years. I love the sport, though, and I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't. I would buy a beach house in the Bahamas and relax."
How, then, will he measure the success of his plan to shake up the sales and therefore also the sport?
"I think what we are doing will be beneficial to Coolmore and Godolphin," he says. "We want to see a more open market, more competition and more variety. I don't think it's a disruptive development.
"For Amo, we want success. We're not making this investment to fail. We want to compete at the highest level. I hope the horses we've bought will be successful. I hope they will become a stepping stone to another and another and another."
This column is exclusive to Members' Club Ultimate subscribers. Read more pieces from Lee Mottershead here:
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Replies: 3
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I dont like his style much but he has got balls.
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By:
The article says his family lost everything in the Iranian revolution.
i just dont believe that.....They will have had swiss bank accounts for sure. not saying he isnt a totally self made man , but...... |
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By:
I can understand what he's doing, and why he's doing it eg he wants to rock the applecart, and a piece of the cake. I also believe him - believe it or not. I hope he succeeds otherwise the domination of Coolmore and AOB will continue without much interference/competition from Godolphin - a behemoth which squandered many $ms without much success earlier solely owing to any truly experienced and knowledgeable management team like Coolmore (the boys), Juddmonte (Khalid Abdulla) or Aga Khan.
He needs success quickly and aplenty to compete regularly at the sales ring. This is the unknown $64k question. |