Freire excited to be following in Stoute’s footsteps

Raphael Freire is daring to dream as Newmarket’s newest name sets out to make an immediate impression in his adopted home town.

Some would feel the weight of expectation if handed the keys to one of the most famous stables in racing.

But for the Brazilian-born Freire – who has become an essential cog in Kia Joorabchian’s Amo Racing operation – there is nothing but excitement as he embarks on writing his own chapter in the history of Freemason Lodge – the former base of the great Sir Michael Stoute.

“It’s so far, so good in Newmarket and you have no excuses here, you have everything you need to be a racehorse trainer,” said Freire.

“One hundred per cent you can feel the history when you walk around the yard, it’s impossible not to and every box in there has been home to so many great horses, like Shergar and Desert Crown. The yard is full of history and now it’s time for us to try to make our own.

“We have big hopes and the goal is always the same, to win as many races as possible and put ourselves on the highest shelf we can. If we can be competing at the top level, that is always the goal with Amo.”

Raised from training stock, with both his father and grandfather trainers in their native Brazil, Freire’s journey to the spiritual home of Flat racing initially took him from Rio de Janeiro to Norway, where he excelled in the training ranks, catching the attention of Amo supremo Joorabchian.

The football agent saw Freire as the perfect man to head up his UK team and having initially served as assistant to Dominic Ffrench Davis, he took over the reins of the Lambourn branch of the Amo operation in June last year.

It was a case of quality over quantity for Freire in his first half-season as a licence holder, with two Listed victories from five winners in 2024, and having been installed by Joorabchian in the historic Bury Road yard, he is determined to make his mark in the beating heart of British racing.

Freire continued: “You can’t ask for anything better than British racing, it is the creme de la creme and it doesn’t get any better. I’ve been given a great opportunity and I’m trying to make the very best of it.

“I often say I don’t have time to feel the pressure and in this sport you are always so busy and flat out. But there is always some type of pressure, no matter where you are and what you are doing.

“It’s a results game and you need to prove yourself – and once you’ve done that, you need to do it again in the next race. But you get used to that and often I don’t feel the pressure.

“At the moment, it is a bit like when I first started in Lambourn, I’m still figuring out what works best for us and the yard is undergoing some refurbishments and is being renewed a little bit.

“I think the yard is looking good and Kia has spent a lot of money basically making it brand new and it’s all coming together really nicely.”

Joorabchian has not just backed Freire with a Freemason Lodge upgrade, but has also provided a fully-stocked barracks primed with ammunition, as the handler prepares to unleash some of his stable stars at the three-day Craven meeting which signals the start of Newmarket’s season.

Craven Stakes entrants Tuscan Hills and Benevento will lead the charge having excelled for Freire at two, and having tasted international Classic success when Hotline Bling claimed the 2022 Norsk 2000 Guineas, the trainer hopes the duo can soon make his new neighbours stand up and take note.

“These are the sort of horses you want to train and it’s all hopes and dreams at this point but it is 100 per cent great to have horses that can give you aims and goals, especially at this early stage of my career,” said Freire.

“Any Classic trial is a tough race and you can never expect to have an easy time. But we have two nice horses and they are there to compete. We haven’t figured out which one will run yet, but both are in great order.

“Sometimes they can take a big step from two to three and these are two horses who still have a point to prove to show that they could be Classic horses.

“They are definitely on the right way and doing splendid and we just need to see them on the racetrack now to be certain of what we are seeing – whoever represents us, I back to run a nice race.”