There probably isn’t a breeder who has not sometimes wished he could use one of the great sires of the past. What breeder of straight Egyptians wouldn’t jump at the chance of a breeding to, say, *Morafic? Or, even better, Nazeer himself? Who would not stand in line for a breeding to *Bask? What about *Padron, or Bey Shah? But wait – you can do that! Not *Bask or *Morafic, but *Padron and Bey Shah are among the long deceased top sires that are still available by frozen semen. A new Bey Shah filly was foaled just this spring. Such are the wonders of modern science and technology.
In actual fact, the Russians got there first. Aswan was very likely the first major sire to have his semen frozen and preserved for many years after his death, as well as the case in which the longest time elapsed between the freezing and the actual use of the semen. For 47 years, it was stored at the All-Russian Scientific Research Institute of Horse Breeding, until the new management at Tersk in 2012 decided to start an experiment and use frozen semen from the top sires of the past. This included not only Aswan, but also his son and successor Mashuk and the full brothers *Muscat and *Moment, whose semen had been frozen prior to their exportation.
In the case of Aswan, they were in for an unpleasant surprise. Having been frozen
