DNA: The secrets of the success of legendary horses could be uncovered using ancient DNA techniques, according to an expert from the Royal Veterinary College London. Scientists will examine the genes of Eclipse, the horse often referred to as the best racehorse ever.
"A thoroughbred is a magical beast, that is more than the sum of the components that went in," said Prof Matthew Binns at the BA festival yesterday.
"We hope to find out more about the origins of the breed, to get a stronger picture of these components," he continued.
"Some horses were famous for their racing ability and others because they were very successful at stud," he said. "Quite often, especially historically, these things corresponded closely."
"I have identified about 10 horses who I would really love to look at," explained Prof Binns. The research will begin, however, with Eclipse, and a horse called Hermit which won the Derby and was rated the best stallion six years running.
"These horses had a major effect on the breed, and their genes will be very common within the breed," he continued. "The skeletons were only preserved from very important and well recognised horses."
Ancient DNA analyses will be performed by Dr Mim Bower, at the University of Cambridge, using teeth from the remains. DNA in teeth is better preserved than in bone, said Prof Binns.
The idea would then be to verify that the skeleton is from the animal that we think it is," he added.
"However, working with the skull and with teeth, means that there is a much greater chance that it is the right skull, than working with individual vertebrae for example," he said.
"We should then be able to identify blocks of DNA in the old teeth to see if they are still present in thoroughbreds today," explained Prof Binns.
He remains cautious about the possibility of using this information to select new horses to breed in future. "It's a very specific job to run between five furlongs and a mile and a half, and the thoroughbred is uniquely able to do that," he said. "Bringing in foreign genes would need much refining, and may take 30 to 40 years and an absolute fortune."