Believe Me, the second Danish warmblood licensed stallion of which DNA research proved he had a different sire than registered on paper, is sired by Furst Grandios and not Belissimo M.
Little over a month ago the Danish breeding world was upset when mandatory DNA research proved that licensing favourite Sezuan was not sired by Romanov (by Rohdiamant x Grundstein II) but instead by Zack (by Rousseau x Jazz). Two weeks later the same DNA lab revealed that licensed colt Believe Me was not sired by Belissimo M. The laboratory needed a few weeks extra to research the DNA string and discover the real sire, Furst Grandios.
Belissimo M and Furst Grandios both stand at stud at Zuchthof Schmidt in Lippetal, Germany. Furst Grandioso (by Furst Heinrich x Argentinus) is the 2004 Westfalian reserve licensing champion and winner of the 2005 30-day stallion performance test in Prussendorf. He finished third at the 70-day stallion performance test in Schlieckau. The bay stallion is being trained at Grand Prix level by Australian Hayley Beresford.
Believe Me's owner Steffen Kristensen is relieved that the real sire has been identified. "It's been a long and frustrating process in which we do not really know what we have bought or sold," Kristensen told Ridehesten. "In fact we have actually missed the biggest of the breeding season. However, I'm happy now this have come to an end, so we can now work on getting the stallion ready for the performance test."
Photo © Ridehesten.com
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