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Belle du Nord (Reliable Man) has headed to Australia with fresh legs for a two-race Adelaide campaign.
The Group One performer who was born and raised at Curraghmore for breeder Nearco Stud arrived safely in Melbourne on Wednesday night.
Runner-up in last season’s Gr.1 Manawatu Sires’ Produce Stakes, Belle du Nord added another top-flight placing to her record this term in the Gr.1 Levin Classic (1600m) before finishing a last-start seventh in the Gr.1 New Zealand Oaks (2400m).
“She didn’t really look like she stayed the Oaks distance so we’ve freshened her right up,” said Emma-Lee Browne, who trains the Reliable Man filly with her husband David.
“It was a little bit too far for her, it was roughly run and she got a bit of a bump along the way so she wasn’t disgraced.
“She’s travelled over here well and she’ll go on to Adelaide and run at Morphettville in the Laelia Stakes over a mile on Saturday week and then on to the Schweppervescence Stakes over 1800m on April 21.”
The Laelia is a Listed contest and the Schweppervescence is a Group Three event. -NZ Racing Desk
