Group Two Winner for Reliable Man

Media Release - Sunday December 16

With a classy come-from-behind performance in Saturday's $100,000 Cal Isuzu Stakes (1600m) at Te Rapa, Karaka graduate Belle du Nord (NZ) (Reliable Man) claimed a valuable Group 2 win to sit alongside her multiple big-race placings.

Reliable ManA $50,000 yearling purchase at Karaka in 2016, Belle du Nord won on debut as a two-year-old and has subsequently placed in the Group 1 Manawatu Sires' Produce Stakes (1400m), the Group 1 Levin Classic (1600m) and the Group 3 Auraria Stakes (1800m) in Adelaide.

But Saturday was Belle du Nord's day in the sun. After dropping out to the rear of the classy eight-horse field in the Te Rapa fillies and mares' feature, jockey Vinnie Colgan angled the four-year-old to the outside to make her run.

Contenders lined up across the track in an exciting finish, but Belle du Nord's potent finishing burst carried her to a half-length victory over the defending championLizzie L'Amour(NZ) (Zabeel).

Raced by the Northern Club Racing Syndicate No. 12 (managed by Sir David Williams KNZM, QC), Belle du Nord has now earned $194,224 in prizemoney – more than 3.8 times her purchase price.

Advertisement

"I'm rapt for the owners," said Emma-Lee Browne, who trains in partnership with her husband David. "We had to wait a little while to get her second win, but she's kept stepping up in big races and she's performed in Australia. This is a great result and she's a really valuable broodmare now."

Belle du Nord's dam Bankside Belle has had two foals to race, both of them black-type performers. Fellow Karaka graduateWhat Choux Want(NZ) (Jimmy Choux) won twice and placed in the Group 2 Matamata Breeders' Stakes and Listed Welcome Stakes.

Curraghmore will offer a Jimmy Choux half-brother to Belle du Nord at Karaka 2019, going through the ring as Lot 1019 in Book 2.

Vendor Bradbury Park
Purchaser Michael Otto Bloodstock (Auckland)
Breeding Reliable Man – Bankside Belle
Sale Lot 302, 2016 Nation Weanling, Broodmare & Mixed Bloodstock Sale, $50,000
Bred by Nearco Stud Limited
Advertisment
More Reading...
Benaud Chasing First Stakes Success
John O’Shea is hopeful Benaud can return to winning form when he lines-up in the Listed Mornington Cup (2400m) on Saturday.
Oaks Winner Back to Best
Last season’s Gr.1 New Zealand Oaks (2400m) winner Sentimental Miss returned to her best with a quality staying performance to take out the Listed Steelform Roofing Group Wanganui Cup (2040m).
Flemington Victory for Tarzino Mare
Quirky but talented mare Miss Tarzy has come from last win the Leilani Series Final (1400m) under a patient Jett Stanley ride.
Marble Nine Brings Up Second SW For Aquis Sire Kobayashi
The withdrawal of the top weight in Saturday’s $175,000 Listed VRC Santa Ana Lane Sprint Series Final (1200m) at Flemington saw the field down to just six, with Marble Nine continuing his outstanding recent form to secure his first black type victory.
Karaka Million Goal for Reliable Man Filly
Promising two-year-old De La Terre will look to improve on the family record in the Karaka Million 2YO (1200m) after she looked to have cemented her place in the million dollar feature with a comfortable victory over 1000m at Te Rapa on Saturday.
Buccleuch - First Stakes-Winner for Peltzer
The $175,000 Listed VRC Taj Rossi Series Final (1600m) at Flemington on Saturday was won back in 2020 by Cherry Tortoni, who went to on to become a multiple Group winner of nearly $1million and the same colours were carried by this year’s winner Buccleuch.
Pride’s Outsider Estadio Mestalla Wins Winter Stakes
The lone stakes race on Rosehill’s ten-race card on Saturday saw Joe Pride’s race outsider Estadio Mestalla (Galileo Gold) take out the $200,000 Listed ATC Winter Stakes (1400m) in a boilover.
Reliable Man Best Still to Come
The impressive Group I VRC Oaks (2500m) victory of three-year-old filly Miami Bound, who became the second Group One winner for sire Reliable Man, has been the highlight of a stunning ten-day period for the Westbury Stud-based stallion.
Snitzel Filly Bridal Waltz Wins A.R. Creswick Stakes
While many felt the winner of Saturday’s Listed $175,000 VRC A.R. Creswick Stakes (1200m) had raced two weeks prior in the Shop Flemington Handicap (1100m) – and they would’ve been correct – but it was not the result many punters felt it would be!
Kiwi Bred Good Banter Finds Winning Form
Four-year-old mare Good Banter was back in the winner’s circle when narrowly prevailing in the Catanach's Jewellers Handicap (2000m) at Rosehill on Saturday for trainers John O’Shea and Tom Charlton.