The incident occurred in the United States, after its buyers sent the animal for tests to see if it could get pregnant
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Kept True looks female, but in reality is a male (AP)
Surprise in the world of equestrian sports after the discovery that the multi-champion Kept True is actually a male and not a mare. The removal of the animal and an auction uncovered the truth that has taken the case to court in the United Statesand has unleashed a scandal.
It all started after the horse was retired for having turned six years old, having completed a magnificent race in which he managed to get his owners to pocket nearly USD 350 thousand in prizes during that time. Being a mare, they are usually put to the service of raising new foals, but before -in general- they must change owners, since they are not usually the same ones who dedicate themselves to racing than to breeding.< /p>
In this way, the mare was auctioned in 2021 in Keeneland for a value close to USD 151 thousand.Then, her buyers sent her to a lab for routine tests to see if it was possible for her to get pregnant as the idea was to mix her DNA with that of some champion colt to continue the lineage of winners. But the results stunned everyone.
Farm owners Michelle and Alex Crawford learned that Kept True has no ovaries: “There are obvious abnormalities in the reproductive organs of the horse. Kept True has the appearance of a female horse, but the chromosomes of a male (XY)”, they explained in statements published by the British site The Sun. For this reason, they demanded that the money invested in the auction be returned to them, something that the previous owners refused to do. Then, Justice will define the situation.
A champion colt can be worth millions of dollars (EFE)
The truth is that this unusual fact is not unique. In October 2021, the case of Flamingo Girl, a four-year-old filly who had won a competition in Italy but had tested positive for testosterone, became known. While this was initially believed to be linked to a typical doping case, the animal was later found to be a hermaphrodite. “It has signs of being male, so because of this its testosterone was too high. Testosterone was at a normal level when I was younger, but it increased with evolution”, explained his trainer Henk Grewe, surprised by the medical results.
The big question in this type of case it is if the owners of the equines know or do not know the situation of their animals. In the event that they were found to be aware of everything, this type of situation could be seen as covert doping and bring serious consequences to the people who took advantage of the situation.