Lion Heart sired the first winner from his penultimate Aussie crop at Townsville on Tuesday.

A former Coolmore sire, he shuttled from Kentucky to Australia for five seasons until transferring to the Turkish National Stud in 2010.

Ring Me Ruby (2f Lion Heart – Belong To You by Belong To Me) started a $2.80 favourite in the Parry Nissan Prelude (1200m) at Cluden Park and duly delivered with a one length victory over Sizzlelon (Falvelon).

The Steve O’Dea trained filly had beaten Sizzlelon (Falvelon) by a nose in the Guildford Coal Plate on May 1.  She will head for a hat-trick in the $100,000 Parry Nissan Great Northern 2YO (1200m) on Saturday week, June 2.

O’Dea prepares Ring Me Ruby for North Queensland cane farmer George Rapisarda.  They also race talented filly Amber’s Crown (Excites) who has won six races to date.

Lion Heart (Tale of the Cat) was a G1 winner of the Hollywood Futurity and Haskell Invitational before retiring to stud in 2005.  He has sired 387 winners world-wide at a 67% strike-rate.  There are 21 stakes performers among that total topped by 2010 Breeders’ Cup Turf winner Dangerous Midge.

In Australia & NZ, Lion Heart has sired 81 winners from his first two southern crops.  E.I. wiped out the third.  Heading the list are Brisbane stakes winning fillies Bianca Jewel and Double Heart.