Brazilian jockey-turned-trainer Raphael Freire given BHA go-ahead to saddle Amo Racing runners at Royal Ascot

Raphael Freire will have his first runners as a licensed trainer in Britain at Royal Ascot after the former assistant to Dominic Ffrench Davis received clearance from the BHA to saddle horses in his own name.

Freire, 28, has been assistant to Ffrench Davis at Kia Joorabchian’s Amo training centre in Lambourn since the start of last year and takes charge of several Amo Racing horses. His first runner will be €1million breeze-up purchase Angelo Buonarroti in the Group 2 Coventry Stakes on Tuesday.

However, Joorabchian insisted Freire receiving his licence would not spell the end of Ffrench Davis’s association with his organisation, with Maxi King declared to represent the trainer in the Copper Horse Handicap on Tuesday, and that it would be up to the trainers to decide who trained which horse.

Joorabchian said on Sunday: “I have spoken with Dom and Raphael and told them I’m not getting involved with the decisions. The two of them started together and have worked well together, so they can decide how they are going to do it. 

"For example, I saw that Angelo Buonarroti is in Raphael’s name, but I’m not surprised by that as he helped to buy him. I didn’t know who Maxi King was declared for, but I see that it’s Dom and that’s fine – they know the horses better than I do. 

“They’ve worked together for however long now; why should I come in and say who goes where? They have such a good relationship and I do think that Raphael has been fantastic for Dom since he started there and vice versa because Dom has so much experience; so they’ll sort it out and I don’t even ask them about it. We’re not changing anything for the horses, it’s just a change of name on paper.”

Freire, a Brazilian jockey-turned-trainer, has previously been represented with a runner in Britain when Hotline Bling contested the 2022 Thoroughbred Stakes at Glorious Goodwood.

Joorabchian said: “He’s a big horseman from a horse family – he’s a real horseman through and through. He’s very talented and did well training in Norway before coming here, but he’s learned a lot from Dom too. I always try to support young people and the more of them that can come into the game the better.”

Since linking up with Joorabchian, Ffrench Davis has enjoyed a spike in performance with the trainer having a career-best 23 winners last year and prize-money earnings of £418,616 in Britain.

Last year, Persian Dreamer landed the Group 2 Duchess of Cambridge Stakes for Joorabchian and Ffrench Davis, with the duo also winning this year’s Lincoln with Mr Professor and the Listed National Stakes with Enchanting Empress, who is now trained by Freire.

Ffrench Davis confirmed on Sunday he had spoken to Joorabchian and "looked forward" to continuing his association with the owner.

Read more...

Confirmed runners and riders for the three Group 1 races on the opening day of Royal Ascot 

The Racing Post is now available to follow on WhatsApp channels! Follow Racing Post Insider on WhatsApp and you can now start receiving messages and alerts for the latest news, tips, insights, live reactions and much more. Click the group link and get Racing Post notifications straight to your phone via WhatsApp.