Joorabchian swoops for Frankel yearlings to make waves at Tattersalls

Kia Joorabchian was extremely busy on day one of the Tattersalls Book One sale as he signed for a trio of Frankel yearlings costing a staggering eight million guineas.

The businessman, who runs his racing interests under the Amo Racing banner, was the successful bidder after a prolonged battle to acquire Lot 68, a Frankel filly out Aljazzi bred by Newsells Park Stud.

With the dam a five-time winner with a Group Two victory to her name and the sire needing no introduction, the hammer dropped at extraordinary 4,400,000 guineas – the second-highest lot ever sold at the Book One sale. And Joorabchian showed he was not quite finished when Lot 72 hit the ring soon after.

Another filly by Frankel, this time the yearling in question was by Alwilda and therefore a full-sister to Kirsten Rausing exceptional mare Alpinista, winner of the 2022 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.

Joorabchian went to 2,500,000 guineas for the bay, before returning to the ring to purchase a Frankel colt out of Atone for 1,100,000 guineas and a Sea The Stars colt out of Zahratty for 750,000 guineas.

He told Tattersalls: “We need strong-pedigreed fillies, and we have a lot of horses going to stud in the next year, such as Bucanero (Fuerte) and King Of Steel, it will be this year or next year we will have to make a decision soon, and we have Persian Force already at stud. We need to back them, otherwise we are just going to get left behind – we have to back our stallions to have a chance of winning.

“It is very difficult to buy such mares because the likes of Juddmonte, Coolmores, Shadwells, all the big guys own all the big mares. So we have to come out here and hope that what we are buying in terms of pedigrees will make us competitive.

“It is very hard to buy (such pedigrees) after the yearling stage – once a filly has won a Group One you are in very high prices, so you have got to try to get them earlier and hope that they go on well.”

He added: “Frankel has had huge success, and he just keeps on producing – the Matron Stakes was a real eye-opener, four of the field were by Frankels and one Too Darn Hot. You look at all the Frankels and what they are doing, these amazing mares and fillies, you just have to back him.”

Bloodstock agent Alex Elliott accompanied Joorabchian and said: “Kia is ready for the operation to prove itself at the next echelon and that is where we are trying to get to and that is why we need to get into these families. The fact that these horses are staying here is huge for British racing and we should all be huge cheerleaders for it.”

Of the sale-topper, Elliott added: “All the teams select the best horse and it is who blinks first, and fair play to Kia he certainly did not blink, I think I did!

“This filly has got through most of the hoops – she is by the right stallion, she is out of a good Shamardal mare, she is from a great farm, she has come to a sale, she has shown she is in the top echelon of horses, now she has got to keep going!”

And of Lot 72, he said: “That pedigree, a sister to an Arc winner, there is not a lot to tell you that we don’t all know!

“Kia has been in the game for a certain amount of years now, and to compete at the top table you have to have the best pedigrees – it is the only way to compete consistently.

“Amo has got to a level now that it is ready to try to do that, and that filly has just about the best pedigree in the book. It doesn’t get any better than that. She is a fine, big, scopey filly, she is worth a hell of a lot of money residually. We will see how she goes, we will take our time, it is very much a late-developing family and she looks that physically.”