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Record at Palermo: $150 Million Paid for 90% of a Criollo Stallion
🇦🇷 Argentina /Culture & Society

Record at Palermo: $150 Million Paid for 90% of a Criollo Stallion

From La Nación · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Outcome reported
  • A record $150,000 was paid for 90% of a Criollo breed stallion at a Palermo auction.
  • The stallion, Tañido Tronador, was purchased by Santa Elena ranch from Corrientes province.
  • The sale set a new record for the Criollo breed at Palermo, with total operations exceeding $350 million.

Palermo's Sales Hall buzzed with excitement as breeders, ranchers, and buyers from across Argentina, Uruguay, and Brazil gathered for one of the year's most significant Criollo breed auctions. The night's highlight was the sale of Tañido Tronador, an adult stallion from the La Serena ranch, for a record 150 million pesos (approximately $100,000 USD) for 90% of the animal.

Tañido Tronador is a son of Zorrino, who was Grand Champion of this exhibition years ago and Grand Champion of the International Federation of Criollo Horse Breeders (FICC) and has now gone to Brazil to work.

— Felipe José BallesterThe owner explained why the stallion generated such interest among buyers.

The winning bid came from Santa Elena ranch, owned by Agostino Bonatti Rocca in Corrientes province. This transaction marked the highest price of the auction and a record for the Criollo breed at Palermo. The event, organized by the Criollo Horse Breeders Association (ACCC) along with El Rincón and Saenz Valiente Bullrich, concluded with total sales surpassing 350 million pesos, including stallions, mares, embryos, and stud services.

Auctioneers Fernando (h) and Gerónimo Saenz Valiente managed the sale of the stallion. The atmosphere was charged with anticipation as buyers, both in person and by phone, vied for Tañido Tronador. Bidding was intense, with a group of Uruguayan breeders and another major Argentine ranch competing until the final offer from Santa Elena secured the stallion.

He has very good morphology overall, he is very docile, he is a horse that had already been in the Freno de Oro [a competition held in Esteio, Brazil], he has a lot of type, a lot of breed seal, very good mane; all virtues that one looks for in horses.

— Felipe José BallesterBallester described the stallion's qualities.

Owner Felipe José Ballester highlighted the stallion's pedigree, noting he is a son of Del Oeste Zorrino, a highly influential sire and former Grand Champion of Palermo. Tañido Tronador also boasts impressive functional and morphological qualities, making him a sought-after breeding prospect. Ballester explained that the sale included 90% ownership, with his family retaining 10% to preserve access to the stallion's genetics.

We sold 90% to an Argentine ranch, Santa Elena, from Sauce, Corrientes. We kept 10% to preserve his genetics.

— Felipe José BallesterBallester confirmed the details of the sale and the family's decision to retain a share.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by La Nación in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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