Caitriona Murphy

HARTWELL Stud’s revelation that the Irish Sport Horse stallion Cruising has two clones ready to undertake stud duties this spring has reverberated around the world in the past week.

The iconic grey and his two clones, Cruising Arish and Cruising Encore, have been the subject of much scrutiny since it was revealed in The Irish Field that the two three-year-olds have been hiding in Co Kildare since 2012.

The news spread through social media, print, television and radio like wildfire and The Irish Field has been inundated with comments from Irish breeders and equestrian enthusiasts all over the world.

Some readers object to cloning on the basis that it interferes with normal breeding and selection processes, while others believe that replicating the genes of a deceased stallion is not a progressive move for the breeding industry.

Other readers are keen to see how Cruising Arish and Cruising Encore will perform, either in competition or as sires, before making a decision. Still more readers have applauded the McCann family of Hartwell Stud for embracing science in breeding.

The table (centre) gives a flavour of the reaction from some readers of The Irish Field to the Cruising clones since the news broke.

Horse Sport Ireland’s issued a statement on the back of The Irish Field story, with chief executive Damian McDonald saying: “The sport horse sector has always embraced the use of science to breed better horses. Techniques such as artificial insemination and latterly, embryo transfer, are in wide use in the sport horse sector.

“The international governing body, the Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI), allow clones to compete and we altered the rules of the Irish Sport Horse Studbook in recent years to permit the registration of clones.”

He continued: “Cloning won’t be something everyone will embrace but it is another option for breeders and Cruising’s genetics are traditionally Irish, which is important to a cohort of breeders.”

Mary McCann of Hartwell Stud said she had been overwhelmed by calls about the clones.

“I have far more mares than I thought and lots of them are old Irish breeding like Clover Hill, Highland Flight and so on. Some of them are quite old at this stage but those are the type of mares I was hoping for.”

“We’ve had calls from America, Australia, France, England, Sweden, Belgium and Italy asking about semen,” she added. “I am gobsmacked at the reaction they have received.”

Reader reaction to Cruising clones

Grainne Farrelly: Very interesting, whether you can clone heart, determination and attitude ....we will see

Kate McGrath: Can open, worms everywhere!!! Really don’t like the idea

Terrier Tam: I think this is bad... It’s interesting that it can be done and all the science is amazing but if we go down the route of cloning the best then where is the sport the competition and all the great things that come with making a horse the best...???

Helena M Ryan: Cloning is the end of genetic diversity. Cruising was a well utilised stallion when he was alive and if these are to be allowed to breed as well, the country will be flooded with Cruising offspring.

Chris Valentine: They can replicate his genes but nothing can replicate the legend’s pure soul. Excited to see how these fellas pan out! Good luck to all involved

Rosie Anderson: This is totally wrong. Not only is it against nature but all the potentially brilliant horses successes of today and the near future could be hampered by a horse who has already made history. His legacy should live on in his descendants, not the unnatural clones! These two horses should not be allowed to compete in any discipline. It would not be fair. That’s just my opinion.

Karen Keogh Kerry: Really people! This is Equine Science at its very best! Mary Mc Cann is one of the most experienced people I know in the field of fertility, embryo work, AI etc etc not to mention a breeder of the highest calibre of sport horses! She wouldn,t have chosen to do this on a whim for a few quid! I think it is absolutely fantastic for the future of Top Class sport horses in Ireland and the possibilities are endless! Apart from the obvious, this opens doors for things like stem cell work and possibly finding and treating those awful conditions in our own horses that we would love to be able to fix!

Maeve Al Aidarous: What a shame, why can’t we just remember the legend Cruising as he was making people all all over the world happy, instead of getting excited about his clones. Shocked and disappointed. This is not the way forward.

Richard Keogh: I don’t really have too much of an opinion on cloning other than I wouldn’t like to see it in horse racing. I’d rather they were investigating ways to improve the health of horses, to overcome susceptibility to the likes of grass sickness, laminitis etc.

Podge Bolger: What about the gene pool of the Irish horse industry? It is not as if the industry is short of the Cruising blood line. In years to come will the gene pool of the horse industry become very limited?I don’t have a negative opinion of this extraordinary research. But we should live with a long term view also. But well done to the scientists who made this break through.