(Wired) – Polo aficionados have long treated cloning with skepticism, fearing that cloned offspring would be little more than sickly knockoffs of once great horses. But now a team of clones has resolutely thrashed one of the best horse-breeding outfits in existence. Speaking to Science magazine after the match, Meeker—a Texan who made his fortune in oil, gas, and real estate before convincing Cambiaso to join his cloning venture—calls the victory a “proof of concept.”

Which concept, exactly? For Cambiaso, it seems to be this: In a sport where horses are more important than their riders, anyone who can indefinitely clone the best steed in the world has the ultimate edge. If Cambiaso can strategically manage his herd of cloned Cuarteteras, and if young Poroto keeps showing promise as a player, this could be the start of a multispecies polo dynasty. His formula is to capitalize on years of horse-breeding superiority through cloning, lock down the bloodlines, and dominate the sport.

The only flaw is that Cambiaso isn’t the only one with control of those bloodlines. (Read More)