Anuario Raza Polo Argentino Anuario2018 | Page 243

Complete Sample:
group
% 40
Sprinter 4 5,1 35

n
Miller 37 48,1
Long-distance 36

46,8
77
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Sprinter
Some Thoroughbred Racehorses with outstanding
campaign records were also analyzed as
references in the three categories:
Final Meeting (Sprinter), winner of 13 races of
between 800 and 1200 mts. including several classics.
Speed champion towards the end of the ‘90’s.
El Garufa (Miller), winner of 16 races, most of
them classics of between 1400 and 1600 mts.
received an award as Miler of the Year in mid 2000.
Life of Victory (Long-Distance), winner of the
2400 meter Carlos Pellegrini Grand Prix and 10
classics, he excelled in races of between 2000
and 3000 meters, and received the Long-Distance
Racehorse of the Year Award.
The Argentine Criollo and Quarter Mile Breeds
were also tested, and as expected from their
performance, turned out to be Long-Distance
and Sprinters respectively.
Conclusions:
This work made it possible to obtain a genetic
character from a representative sample of the Polo
Pony breed. The gene under study was myostatin,
Miller
Long-distance
known for its association with speed and muscular
development.
The first obvious conclusion was that the myostatin
variables associated to greater staying power as
seen in Milers and Long-Distance racehorses, are
present in a significant percentage (95%).
This result is significant in that the Long-distance
variable in particular, is not that frequent in
National Thoroughbred Racehorses, from which
many Polo Ponies stem. One may ask oneself
how influential the Criollo Breed might have been,
whose presence was significant in the early days
of the Polo Pony.
If this were the case, these first animals could have
defined the standard for the game (greater staying
power), to which the offspring of Thoroughbred
Racehorses may later have adapted.
We must also highlight the incorporation of
Thoroughbred Racehorse donors from New
Zealand; Australia; Ireland; England and the United
States, that belong mostly to bloodlines that do
long-distance on grass.
That is to say that selection tending towards a
staying-power variable has probably been useful,
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