'God, I hope we haven't bought a dud' - Kia Joorabchian reveals fear over multi-million-pound spending spree

Kia Joorabchian has revealed his understandable fear on signing for a string of multi-million-pound lots at Book 1 of last month's Tattersalls October Yearling Sale at Newmarket – despite the "meticulous" nature of his team's preparation for it.

Joorabchian was speaking to the Racing Post for a major interview in Sunday's newspaper in which he discusses his love of the sport, his feelings over his public image, in particular his supposed readiness to wield the axe, and his desire to break into the racing and bloodstock elite.

That ambition led Joorabchian to send 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 last month. 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.

Kia Joorabchian: sent shockwaves through the bloodstock industry when spending more than £24 million on yearlings at Book 1Credit: Tattersalls

Describing what was going on behind the scenes, Joorabchian said: "We were meticulous in how we produced our shortlist. 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."

Asked what he was feeling when signing for the multi-million-pound lots, Joorabchian laughed: "God, I hope we haven't bought a dud!"

Read more from Kia Joorabchian in The Big Read, available in Sunday's newspaper or online for Members' Club Ultimate subscribers from 6pm on Saturday. Click here to sign up.

Read these next:

The rise and rise of Amo Racing: how Kia Joorabchian has become a major player on the sport's big stage 

'I might fail dramatically but I'm going to give it a crack' - Kia Joorabchian opens up on sensational spending spree 

'This year we've changed our strategy' - Kia Joorabchian after 4.3m gns Wootton Bassett colt becomes part of 25-yearling haul 

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