FEDERICO TESIO
Of all the breeders of Thoroughbred racehorses, few can compete with the mystique and romance afforded to the Italian master, Federico Tesio. Even his numerous quotes have a special aura attached to them, conjuring an image that's somehow hard to recreate in the modern era: "The Thoroughbred exists because its selection has depended not on experts, technicians or zoologists, but on a piece of wood - the winning post of the Epsom Derby."

Tesio started his breeding operations in 1898 at Dormello by Lake Maggiore, devising ways of raising his horses in the most natural conditions he could, promoting strength and mental well-being to allow his Thoroughbreds to perform to the very best of their ability.

Tesio's book, Breeding The Racehorse, is a classic first published in 1958, when Ribot - the finest racehorse ever produced by the Italian - was a name still on everyone's lips, and Nearco's blood was filtering through the top stables of Europe and America.

The book is a study of what makes a good Thoroughbred, and what makes them unique, from temperament to colouring, exploding many myths along the way through scientific research and a wealth of experience. It's ironic that after writing in-depth on bloodlines, in-breeding and selection of stallions and dams to give a perfect combination of explosive sprinting and staying power in the mix, the final conclusion is that chance still plays a large part in breeding!

Ultimately, Tesio would monitor his yearlings constantly, watching them move, looking for signs of a good racer - if a colt ran for the sake of feeling the wind in his mane, it stood a chance, but if it showed little interest in running for fun, no matter what the bloodlines, the great man knew he was on a sticky wicket. With Tesio, it was science in the first phase of breeding, letting nature take its course in the second, and an experienced eye in the final stages. With a record like his, few would be wise to question his techniques...