Mont Liggins Trust Gets Funds for Ageing Research

With his second season as a stallion satisfyingly successful, having achieved a 90% conception rate, and with his first crop of weanlings immediately sought after at the 2024 edition of the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale, 2022 Preakness victor Early Voting has elected to support some exciting new research with the Mont Liggins Trust.

The first contribution to the Mont Liggins Trust for research, from the Early Voting Consortium, is a grant of US$30,000.

This ground-breaking research conducted by Dr. Padraig (Paddy) O’Casaigh BVSc, PhD, MRCVS and his research associates at the University of Auckland in New Zealand is determining the ability of chaperone proteins and mitochondrial restoration to increase good health factors and reduce ageing in both the horse and humans.

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Proteomic treatment utilizes natural chaperone proteins to enhance the body’s ability to move toward a harmonized, homeostatic level of intra cellular protein production. As we age and in certain disease states, our cellular ability to translate a transcribed mRNA code into a functional protein is impaired. As chaperone proteins are lost with age, our cells become more and more packed with ‘junk protein’. This coincides with a marked increase in free radicals as well.

In commencing the research, Dr O’Casaigh’s thoughts went to those stallions that were unresponsive to hormonal therapy in old age. Hormones are made from proteins; maybe, he theorized, those older stallions were unable to respond to hormonal therapy because their cells were too clogged with ‘junk’. The question now in Dr. O’Casaigh’s mind was: ‘how do we get rid of the cellular ‘junk’ in order to allow the cell to make more proteins?’ He became convinced that the answer lay with replacing lost chaperone proteins.

The research is fast-developing and the Mont Liggins Trust is grateful for the contribution from the EV Consortium, which intends to provide a continuing series of grants each year from Early Voting’s successful stud career. Early Voting will stand for the 2025 season at Taylor Made Stallions, as he did last year, for US$12,500.

“This stallion is leaving his stamp on his progeny,” Ben Taylor, president of Taylor Made Stallions, said. “They are athletic, muscular and already look like making early racing propositions. The excellent response to his weanlings and his competitive service fee, make for an appealing breeding opportunity that will see him attract many mares for the 2025 season.”

With the immediate appeal of his first season’s progeny, his stand-out modern bloodlines, classic winning performance and remarkable fertility, Mont Liggins Trustee and Research Veterinarian Dr. Paddy O’Casiagh said the EV Consortium is currently assessing opportunities to additionally stand Early Voting for the 2025/26 Southern Hemisphere season.