Football agent and racehorse owner Kia Joorabchian has spoken of his ambition to win the sport’s crown jewel events and described the Betfred Derby as “top of the list".
The Iranian-born 54-year-old has quickly emerged as one of racing’s leading players in recent years, with horses running in the purple silks of his Amo Racing operation having enjoyed many big-race successes.
From just five runners in The Derby, Amo has twice gone close to glory, with Mojo Star taking the runner-up spot in 2021 and King Of Steel occupying the same finishing position two years later.
Speaking to the Nick Luck Daily Podcast, Joorabchian explained why the Betfred Derby means so much to him.
He said: “For me The Derby, the Kentucky Derby, Royal Ascot and the Breeders' Cup are four events that I just absolutely adore.
“The Derby goes top of the list, of course, because it's one of the most historic races in the world and it's one of the most prestigious races in the world. For us to have competed in them with the likes of Mojo Star and King Of Steel has been a real great honour. It is a great honour, to be honest, just to be there.”
Joorabchian has been one of the most prominent purchasers at the world’s leading bloodstock sales in recent years and in this year’s Betfred Derby is set to be represented by the two most expensive horses sold at public auction in the field – Ancient Egypt, a son of Frankel who cost 1.1 million Guineas and Poker, who is by Wootton Bassett and cost 4.3 million Guineas, making him the most expensive yearling ever sold in Europe.
Ancient Egypt has won three of his four starts and emerged as a candidate for Epsom Downs with a clear-cut success in the Listed JCB Newmarket Stakes, a recognised Betfred Derby Trial, last month.
Poker, who will be partnered by Derby debutant Rowan Scott, is winless after three starts but ran with credit when runner-up on his first try over a mile and a half at Haydock Park in late April.
Assessing his chances of glory in the 247th running of the world’s greatest race, Joorabchian said: “You know, it's a funny question because when we went into The Derby with Mojo Star, Richard Hannon said, ‘We've got a chance here’. He was very excited about it and the horse was still a maiden.
“I went into the race with King Of Steel. He'd only ran twice as a two-year-old and missed his three-year-old run at the Dante because of the stalls. But I went into that race (the 2023 Derby), and we had a real, real, real big hope for him.
“This year I have a lot of hope for our two runners. I'm a little bit worried about the ground now, all of a sudden. Because I do think that, especially with Ancient Egypt, we'd prefer to have better ground. But you can't change that unless you're the racing gods.”
Despite his hefty price tag and lack of success so far, the owner has his eyes firmly focused on the future for Poker.
He said: “When you purchase a horse and the minute the hammer goes down, he comes down and goes into the stalls. He’s then worth the same as every other horse in the stalls, which is zero.
“And then they start again. Poker ran as a two-year-old over seven furlongs, which is as Karl (Burke, trainer) will probably tell you, it was probably a mistake to have run him over seven furlongs to start with.
“He then ran over a mile and one as a two-year-old. And he was very weak and he wasn't quite ready. And then we realised, OK, there was a slight bit of a mistake there. And when we went into his three-year-old career, he ran his first race over a mile and a half and he put up a very, very good performance. So, we know he wants the trip. We know he has grown a lot.
“We know that we probably rushed him a little bit as a two-year-old. I think if you speak to Karl, he'll tell you the same thing. He'll say we should have never run him over seven furlongs or a mile one as a two-year-old.
“So we still think he's a very, very good horse. Whatever he does at the Derby is irrelevant. I think he's going to be a much better horse towards the end of the year. And I think he's going to be a top horse in his four-year-old career.”
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