Prolific eventer Tamarillo, winner of both Badminton (2004) and Burghley Horse Trials (2008), died last year, but his clone, Tomatillo, is already following a similar path.
Bred by the Guinness family at Biddesden Stud in Wiltshire, Tamarillo was a part-bred Arabian and competed at the Arab National Championships at Malvern as a three-year-old, winning both his class and the Part-Bred Championship.
This year Tomatillo was sent to the Championships to attempt the same thing, and, bizarrely, won his class and was Reserve in the Championship. Not bad!
Tomatillo, now standing at Biddesden and covering mares, was cloned in Texas and carried by a surrogate dam called Blondie.
Both names are varieties of tomato.
You can see images of Tomatillo competing here on the E. S. Photography web site.
