Kia Joorabchian set to move Amo Racing horses into Sir Michael Stoute’s Freemason Lodge Stables in Newmarket

Kia Joorabchian has confirmed his intention to complete the purchase of Freemason Lodge early next year.

There has been plenty of speculation surrounding the future of the famous Newmarket stables after legendary trainer Sir Michael Stoute announced that he was to retire at the end of the 2024 season.

However, it now appears that Amo Racing supremo Joorabchian is close to sealing a deal, having outgrown is current premises in Lambourn.

“We’re hoping to complete in the beginning of January and we’re very thrilled and honoured to have it,” the football agent, who earlier this year removed his horses from Roger Varian’s Carlburg Stables, told Newmarket handlers Charlie Fellowes and George Scott on their Off The Bridle podcast.

“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 will continue with our group of trainers but Raphael (Freire, trainer) has definitely grown out of Lambourn and we’ve been looking for a yard, it’s been no secret. When this opportunity arose, it was something we couldn’t turn down.”

Yet despite the fact that his operation will be moving into a yard that has previously housed some of the biggest names in the sport’s history, Joorabchian has insisted that ‘patience’ will be needed before Amo Racing are ready to consistently dine at the top table of racing.

He added: “Godolphin have done an amazing job, Coolmore are one of, if not the best, operations in the world, Juddmonte are one of the best and Shadwell in previous years have been able to produce incredible homebreds as well.

“Sumbe, Nurlan Bizakov, are doing a great job in France and I realise these guys are way ahead of us at the moment, their breeding operations are not just years but tens of years ahead of us, so for us to compete at that level, we can’t be fooled into thinking we can compete in one or two years just because we’ve spent big.

“It means patience, it means getting our breeding right and having our broodmare band grow and having our own stallions get stronger. I think we’re on the right road but I definitely don’t think it will be done in one or two years, we’re going to grow slowly and, hopefully, organically now. I’m hoping we can show other people they can also do it.”