(Photo: Getty Images)
High-class racehorse turned Group One sire Reliable Man has died aged 18.
Westbury Stud General Manager Russell Warwick confirmed the striking grey died after complications from surgery to remove melanomas.
“Being a grey horse, he was starting to suffer from melanomas, and he had quite a significant one under his tail,” Warwick said.
“We did some surgery on Monday, which went really well but then he had some post-surgery complications, sort of 48 hours later and he was going downhill at a rapid rate.
“We didn’t want him to suffer, and you do the right thing by the horse.”
Warwick said Reliable Man was always well-received by visitors to Westbury Stud’s Karaka property.
“He was a real privilege to have around the farm and every time we brought him out for a stallion parade, he was a bit of a show-stopper,” he said. “He knew he was good and he was a bit of a crowd favourite.”
The son of Dalakhani was the winner of the Gr.1 Prix du Jockey Club (2100m) in 2011, with his next top-flight victory coming almost two years later for Chris Waller when defeating Dundeel by two and a half lengths in the Gr.1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m) at Randwick.
That stunning triumph was the catalyst for a stud career in New Zealand, while he initially shuttled from studs in Germany, and France.
Bred and raced by his Swedish breeders Sven and Carina Hanson, the couple remained a supporter of Reliable Man in both hemispheres for much of the duration.
“When he won his Group One in Australia for Chris Waller, he broke down with 50m to go in that race and still ran a very quick time and beat It's A Dundeel, who was a star. So he was a high-calibre racehorse in every respect,” Warwick said.
At stud, Reliable Man is the sire of four individual Group One winners, with Oaks winners Miami Bound (VRC Oaks), Sentimental Miss (New Zealand Oaks) and Erle (Preis der Diana) joined by quality mare Inspirational Girl (Gr.1 Railway Stakes) as elite level winners.
“He’s done exceptionally well at stud. Some would say his fillies have been slightly better than his colts,” Warwick said.
“In addition to his four Group One winning fillies, he sired the likes of Group winners Annavisto, Renaisance Woman and Lekvarte who were also high-calibre fillies.
“He is the sire of 29 stakes winners to date and hopefully he can add to that with horses like Lunaman in the Avondale Guineas (Gr.2, 2100m) tomorrow, while Final Return and Nest Egg who are both in the Avondale Cup (Gr.3, 2400m) have both already won at black-type level.
“He’s been a pleasure to have around and will be sorely missed.”
