Chinese scientists have introduced the first cloned racehorse, seven months old, resembling the original racehorse named Ursus. SinoGene, the company that cloned the horse named Zhuang Zhuang, indicates that the cloning process began in 2021, and the foal was born on June 16, 2022. The horse Ursus, from which skin cell samples were taken, was brought from Germany to China in 2007 and has won numerous equestrian competitions in China and abroad. The surrogate mare came from Gansu province in northwest China.
According to Zhao Jianping, Deputy General Manager of SinoGene, the primary objective of cloning the horse is to breed first-class horse breeds in China. He notes that natural breeding does not guarantee that the foal will inherit the best traits of its parents, whereas genetic replication allows for the preservation of all necessary features. At the same time, this process is safe for the surrogate mare.
Zhao Jianping points out that the International Federation for Equestrian Sports allowed cloned horses to participate in competitions in 2012. Thus, there is a possibility that Zhuang Zhuang could compete in the 2028 Summer Olympics, at which point he would be six years old, making him eligible for training, as horses are typically trained between the ages of 4-6 years.
