An Irish showjumper has revealed he has managed to clone a horse from the skin cells of a stallion that was worth millions in his prime.
Pacino was part of the Irish team that won the Aga Khan trophy at the Dublin Horse Show in 2012, but the stallion died a few months later.
Clem McMahon partnered Pacino at that event, saying that he was an "unbelievable horse" and did things that were "nearly unheard of".
The horseman told Morning Ireland on RTE Radio 1: "He was an unbelievable horse. I had him from when he was three, we produced him through, but that year his results for an eight-year-old were incredible. He was the leading eight-year-old in the world that year and to jump double clear in the Aga Khan with an eight-year-old is nearly unheard of."
Clem believes Pacino had so much more to give, especially in terms of breeding.
He added: "We were top of the world then. We were hoping to do championships...Olympics... you were just dreaming about what he could achieve because everything he done beforehand he had done so easy.
"He had also started his breeding career and in the last few years it has really come true how good his offspring are."
When Clem knew it was inevitable that Pacino was going to die and because he didn't have stock of frozen semen from the horse, the Monaghan native decided to look at the possibility of cloning him.
He explained: "At that time, I didn't really have the means of doing it (cloning) so I just put in place what was needed to give us the option down the line and that was to get a skin sample so that would give us the option in future.
"It was a long process in that we tried back in 2014 and 2015, we were unsuccessful. Then in 2017 we had a little bit of luck that we'd a very good offspring from Pacino that jumped the Grand Prix in Dublin. She was placed seventh and was sold after that so that gave us an opportunity then to go and try this cloning."
Clem found an Argentinian vet to carry out the process, which he admits the cost of which was "well into six figures".
But he says the cloned horse has similar mannerisms to Pacino, stating: "He's a gorgeous big three-year-old now at this stage, he's just like the original, he's a beautiful big type. He has all the hallmarks and the natural athleticism and balance and everything.
"He's so so like him [Pacino]. It's uncanny. A funny thing with Pacino, he was a tall horse and he was always a little bit afraid of doorways, walking into stables and stuff, and this guy is exactly the same.
"There are other mannerisms that you just think 'God that couldn't be possible'. You can see it in front of you there.
"We also had the breeder of Pacino Haras Des Reves from Belgium, he came over to see him last week and he got very emotional and just kept saying 'he's the same horse, he's the same horse'."
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