Flemington Double For NZ Sires

Westbury Stud’s shuttle stallion Reliable Man sired his second stakes winner and first in the Southern Hemisphere courtesy of Main Stage’s success in the Listed UCI Stakes at Flemington on Saturday.

Main Stage (Reliable Man x Kiri by Prized) holds a deep New Zealand connection.

A $150,000 NZB Ready to Run Sale purchase, he is out of the well-performed Kiwi racemare Kiri, is trained by expat New Zealanders Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young and was ridden by former NZ champion jockey Michael Walker.

Main Stage, who joins Narella as Reliable Man’s other stakes winner, looked a real contender for next month’s Victoria Derby and will now have his next start in the G3 Caulfield Classic (2000m) on October 21.

With a win and three placings from his first four starts, Main Stage is raced by a group of owners that includes Brownlow Medal-winning AFL star Dusty Martin and has won $99,350 in prizemoney.

• The Rich Hill Stud-based stallion Shocking sired his fifth stakes winner when the Murray Johnson-trained Pure Pride won the Listed Paris Lane Handicap at Flemington.

Pure Pride (Shocking x Mamasan by Shinko King) had not been successful since breaking her maiden at Ballarat in March of 2016.

Pure Pride joins G1 winner Fanatic, G2 winners Chocante and Circuit Hassler and G3 winner Shocking Luck as the other stakes winners by Melbourne Cup winner Shocking.