Updated Joorabchian splashes eight million guineas on trio of Frankel yearlings

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 (£8.4m/€10m).

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