Weekend Stakes Double for Not a Single Doubt

With nine winners in the past seven days, Not a Single Doubt is a sire on fire and two of those winners are stakes-winners with Samizdat winning the Group III WATC Asian Beau Stakes at Ascot on Saturday while Southern Legend scored a record breaking win in the Group III Sa Sa Ladies Purse Handicap at Sha Tin.

A stakes-winner in Australia as a three year-old for Les Bridge, Southern Legend is still going strong at age seven with the Caspar Fownes trained gelding doing best in a tenacious battle with runner-up Time Warp to win the 1800m contest in a track record time of 1m 45.25s, dipping 0.16s below the all-time mark Nassa set in the 2017 edition of this race.

“This morning I talked through the race with Caspar and the plan was to sit between fourth and sixth, but my worry was that he would be stuck wide,” said winning rider Alberto Sanna.

“I asked him if I could charge the horse from the start to come across and then let him relax. I know that he’s the kind of horse that needs to breathe into the corner so that became the plan.

“He’s been in good form, so I was really positive.”

The Hong Kong International Day is on the agenda for Southern Legend, who is entered for both the G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Mile (1600m) and the G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Cup (2000m), with a decision still to be made on which he will tackle.

A $280,000 Inglis Easter purchase for Neville Begg and Carmel Size from the Corumbene Stud draft, Southern Legend is the best of four winners from winning Carnegie (IRE) mare Donna’s Appeal, a daughter of stakes-winner Donna Natalia.

Donna’s Appeal had two winners on Sunday with her three year-old gelding by Not a Single Doubt, Southern Appeal, opening his account at his second start with a neck win at Goulburn for Danny Williams as a short priced favourite.

Donna’s Appeal has foaled this spring for Corumbene Stud producing a colt by Epaulette.

The Magic Millions Perth sale-topper in 2017 when fetching $325,000, four year-old gelding Samizdat looks set for a good summer campaign after winning the Group III WATC Asian Beau Stakes last Saturday.

Prepared by Chris Gangemi, Samizdat took his record to five wins from eight starts and is a half-brother to Group III winner Samovare from More Than Ready (USA) mare Sambar.

Sambar has a yearling colt by Not a Single Doubt’s Group I winning son Extreme Choice and has foaled this spring producing a colt by Lonhro.

Arrowfield Stud’s Not a Single Doubt stands at a fee of $110,000 in 2019 which is the largest fee he has ever commanded. A Listed winner when he retired to stud, Not a Single Doubt stood at a fee of $13,750 for the first six season of his stud career.