The Amo Racing supremo has admitted enduring a disappointing 2025 so far and is pinning his hopes on the Adrian Murray-trained Tiberius Thunder at Saratoga
Kia Joorabchian has booked Frankie Dettori to try to turn his 2025 fortunes around. The Amo Racing supremo has endured a disappointing year to date with his team’s biggest success so far coming from Commonwealth Cup runner-up Arizona Blaze in a Group 2 race this month.
Joorabchian, who has ambitions to challenge racing superpowers Coolmore and Godolphin, has been a major buyer at the thoroughbred sales. In June on the eve of Royal Ascot he spent £2 million to acquire Ghostwriter who finished third in the Hardwicke Stakes on his debut for Amo Racing but was withdrawn before his next appearance after getting upset and injuring himself in the preliminaries.
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Ghostwriter has since been switched from trainer Clive Cox to Freemason Lodge in Newmarket, the former Sir Michael Stoute yard now owned by Amo Racing. Kevin Philippart de Foy took over training at the stables in July as Amo’s number one trainer.
Joorabchian owned up to the struggles after Arizona Blaze’s win at the Curragh under David Egan for trainer Adrian Murray in an interview with RacingTV.
He said: “It’s been unfortunate. We’ve had a lot of bad luck this year. Right before Royal Ascot we had a couple of our bigger two-year-olds get injured. We really haven’t seen the majority of our horses come out yet.
“We’ve got our trainer in Freemason now. He’s only just started and we are very lucky to have him. It was really the missing piece of the puzzle for us.
“Going forward now the team is getting more together. David is doing an incredible job with us and he’s extended. We are looking forward to the next 18 months being somewhat more successful than the last five.”
On Saturday Amo Racing are set to be represented by Tiberius Thunder in the £550,000 Saratoga Derby Invitational at Saratoga. The three-year-old colt, trained by Murray, finished fourth in the Hampton Court Stakes at Royal Ascot in June.
The mount will be taken by Frankie Dettori, who rode his last winner in Britain before he relocated to the US on Amo Racing star King Of Steel when he captured the Champion Stakes at Ascot in 2023.
Murray told Mirror Racing: “We always try to get the best available and when you go over there it helps to have someone who knows the track.
“Tiberius Thunder was one of five or six to run really good races at Royal Ascot. He’s a fair horse and we think he has a big chance.”