Caitriona Murphy

THE notion of cloning Cruising had been lurking in Mary McCann’s mind for some time before she really began to take it seriously.

“Several people had said to me over the years that I should consider cloning him,” she told The Irish Field. “But in 2011, I decided I would at least take the biopsies and put them in storage, which cost $1,500.”

A tissue kit was sent from America to Hartwell Stud, where four biopsies measuring around 1cm in diameter were taken from the crest of Cruising’s neck. The stallion was then aged 26.

“He needed a stitch in each place afterwards and he was left with four dimples in his neck on the near side when they healed up,” recalled McCann.

The biopsies were sent to ViaGen, the animal cloning technology company which stores genetic material for those who may wish to clone animals and has successfully cloned horses, cattle, sheep, pigs and goats.

However almost as soon as the samples had been taken, Mary decided to embark on the full process of cloning her stallion.

The technical term for cloning is Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer (SCNT) and much of the early part of cloning is conducted in a laboratory setting (See How does cloning work? on opposite page)

“We were told that Cruising’s cells were exceptionally strong, if that’s the right word to use,” recalls McCann. “One of the laboratory people said ‘Wow, these cells really want to be grown!’”

The complex scientific process resulted in 11 embryos being successfully grown in the laboratory to the stage where they could be implanted into recipient sport horse-type mares.

Implantation of the 11 embryos took place in August of 2011 and by early January 2012, five embryos were still viable and growing within the recipient mares.

By March, two more embryos had been lost so that by early summer, the McCann family were looking at the prospect of having three Cruising clones due to foal.

The first of the three foals was born in the last week of June 2012, followed almost two weeks later by the second. Sadly, the third foal was a ‘red-bag delivery’, involving premature separation of the placenta during foaling and the foal died.

“They looked just like Cruising as foals,” recalls McCann. “They were both born chesnut like him and began to grey out later like he did. They turned a very dark grey, almost with a touch of roan about it, and developed the same white patches on their bodies that Cruising had as a youngster.”

Despite their incredible creation in a scientific laboratory, their owner was determined to manage the pair of colts (nicknamed Rooster and Booster at home) like normal foals as much as possible.

“We tried to treat them the same as we did Cruising or any foals we have had here, although we probably did look at them a bit more than other foals,” laughs their owner. “They got good Irish grass and they stayed together in a paddock until they got a bit too boisterous last summer, being colts. When they were moved to adjoining paddocks, they would race each other up and down the fence.”

Now rising three years old, the colts are in the process of being broken by Mary’s daughter Jenny, who takes up the story: “I have had the tack on them and do a bit of lunging but we haven’t jumped them yet. They are both incredibly like Cruising to handle. We knew him so well after almost 30 years here at home that it is the nicest thing to break these two and know exactly how they are likely to react to each stage.”

“Some of the things they do are so like him, like the lip-flapping. When Cruising jumped a round, he would come out of the ring with his ears pricked and flap his lips around as if he knew he had done a good job, delighted with himself! One of the colts does the same thing, flaps his lips when he thinks he has done a good job,” she laughs.

“When I started putting tack on them, I could really start to see some of Cruising’s character in them both. In fact there are moments when it’s like the horses themselves have some kind of déjà vu,” says Jenny, pausing momentarily. “Sometimes it’s like they know they have been here before. I honestly think they knew Mum’s voice from the start. Maybe I shouldn’t even say that in case people think we’re mad.”

When asked how she expects people to react to the clones, Mary says: “I am sure they will probably divide opinion. You will get people who will think it is a good thing and others who will think it is a bad thing.”

“I was one of the first people in Ireland to do AI all those years ago. Now you have lots of people doing AI and embryo transfer in recent years. It’s like the next step in some ways,” she said. “Some of the people involved in cloning describe it as just the newest form of assisted reproductive technique. It’s not like genetic modification — we are not changing anything about the genes, we are just copying them. If there was a fault in the genes of the original, that faults would also be in the clone’s genes. You can’t pick and choose what you want.”

Nonetheless, the McCanns are aware that the issue of cloning may prompt a negative reaction from people who disagree with the technique on ethical grounds.

“I’m sure there will be some negative reaction but really, I think people can either take it or leave it. They can either use them or not,” maintains Mary. “I do think it’s very important to point out that I would never have considered cloning Cruising if he was not proven sire of top class performers.”

Cruising was the only Irish Sport Horse stallion to receive a triple five-star rating, based on his own show jumping performance and the performance of his progeny in show jumping and eventing. Winner of the Grand Prix in Aachen and second in the World Cup Final in 1999, he was also a consistent Nations Cup performer for Ireland (see panel, What made Cruising so special?)

However Mary is at pains to point out that she does not expect Cruising’s clones to replicate his career.

“I look on these two horses as carrying Cruising’s semen and they are a way of perpetuating him for breeding purposes. But I do not expect either of them to win an Aachen Grand Prix – how many horses ever do that in their life?” she insists. “We may try to produce them to jump well in a four-year-old class but I do not intend to start off again trekking to shows in Ireland and all over the world. I’d be 90 by the time it got going!”

While the clones are genetic copies of Cruising, how the two horses develop has been and will continue to be influenced to a huge degree by their environment. Their environment includes their day to day management, how they are handled, the training they receive and the circumstances they encounter as they grow.

This is the nub of the nature versus nurture debate – just because the clones are genetically identical to Cruising does not mean they will re-enact his achievements.

The advantage that the Hartwell clones have over others is that they are growing up in the same environment as Cruising, who lived all his life and died in the same Co Kildare stable he was born in. The clones are also surrounded by the same people who looked after Cruising for almost 30 years.

“I’d say Jenny will get bucked off by the two lads the same way Cruising bucked her off all those years go!” laughs Mary.

Her son Jonathan will handle the two stallions for semen collection, as he did with Cruising before them.

Outlining her immediate plan for the pair, Mary says: “You won’t see them loose jumping at the RDS. Cruising himself only jumped a few times as a four-year-old and even as a five-year-old he had only jumped seven or eight times before Paul [Darragh] nominated him for Dublin.”

The stallions will be available at stud this season for a limited number of mares, with a figure of 10-15 mares each mooted due to the stallions’ young age.

She adds: “They are happy, healthy and growing well. For now, all we can do is treat them like we would normal horses.”