Our 'Closer Look’ statistical sire stories have been a huge hit with our audience and this week we’re looking at two outstanding stallions.
When Arrowfield Stud announced the retirement of Not a Single Doubt earlier in the year they were faced with a big gap in their roster, but have found a horse to fill it that is in many ways similar to the horse he’s replacing, albeit with very different bloodlines.
Woodside Park’s champion Victorian sire Written Tycoon is a year younger than Not a Single Doubt and like him has had to earn his success the hard way as you can see in the table below.
His first Group I winners Tycoon Tara and Music Magnate came from his third and fourth crops conceived at a fee of just $6,600 and that’s not easy to do.
Given a modest fee increase and some better mares, Written Tycoon has produced six more Group I winners in following crops, but none conceived at a fee higher than $15,400, which is remarkable stuff!
It was not until Capitalist won the 2016 Golden Slipper that Written Tycoon was really taken seriously by elite breeders and his current season two year-olds are the first bred from a big fee.
Written Tycoon (Foaled 2002)
Crop Year (SH) |
Mares Covered / Service Fee |
Stakes-Winners/ Best Performers |
2008 |
118/ $8,250 |
4 SW’s / G2 Howmuchdoyouloveme, G3 Trump |
2009 |
87/ $8,250 |
1 SW / Danger Close |
2010 |
118/ $6,600 |
3 SW’s / G1 Tycoon Tara |
2011 |
198/ $6,600 |
5 SW’s / G1 Music Magnate, G2 Rich Enuff |
2012 |
152/ $11,000 |
3SW’s / G2 Super Cash |
2013 |
107/ $15,400 |
6 SW’s / G1 Capitalist, La Luna Rossa, G2 Winning Rupert |
2014 |
138/ $13,750 |
6 SW’s / G1 Booker, Despatch |
2015 |
177/ $13,750 |
2 SW’s / G1 Written By, Pippie |
2016 |
183/ $19,800 |
3 SW’s / G3 Hightail |
2017 |
226/ $49,500 |
1 SW / Ole Kirk |
2018 |
168/ $88,000 |
Yearlings |
2019 |
162/ $110,000 |
Foals |
2020 |
136/ $110,000 |
Yet to be born |
Not a Single Doubt is one of those horses that spent most of his stud career being underestimated, which is hardly surprising given the illustrious company he was keeping at Arrowfield.
A speedy, but average Listed winner, whose big claim to fame was running second to Dance Hero in a Magic Millions 2YO Classic, Not a Single Doubt had nothing in his race record to suggest he would go on to sire 14 Group I winners (to date) at distances ranging from 1100 to 2500m.
He is by champion sire Redoute’s Choice from the female family of Snippets, so two big pluses there, but not enough to warrant a fee of any more than $13,750 in his first six years at stud and nothing more than $33,000 in the five years after.
While other high profile horses have come and gone on the Arrowfield roster, Not a Single Doubt has remained and flourished giving hope to every studmaster in the country standing a well bred colt whose race record may be less than stellar.
While champion racehorses frequently produce offspring nowhere near as good as them, Not a Single Doubt has consistently produced horses a lot better than he was and that’s a bit of genetic magic!
Not a Single Doubt (Foaled 2001)
Crop Year (SH) |
Mares Covered / Service Fee |
Stakes-Winners/ Best Performers |
2006 |
128/ $13,750 |
2 SW’s / G3 Doubtful Jack |
2007 |
93/ $13,750 |
5 SW’s / G3 Squamosa |
2008 |
109/ $13,750 |
3 SW’s / G3 Karuta Queen |
2009 |
161/ $13,750 |
5 SW’s / Doubtfilly |
2010 |
148/ $13,750 |
6 SW’s / G1 Miracles of Life, G2 Villa Verde Gypsy Diamond |
2011 |
192/ $13,750 |
5 SW’s / G1 Clearly Innocent, Good Project, G2 Fell Swoop |
2012 |
180/ $24,750 |
10 SW’s / G1 Scales of Justice, Single Gaze, Secret Agenda, Southern Legend |
2013 |
105/ $24,750 |
9 SW’s / G1 Kenedna, Extreme Choice, Samadoubt |
2014 |
134/ $33,000 |
12 SW’s / G1 Mighty Boss, G2 Champagne Cuddles |
2015 |
111/ $33,000 |
7 SW’s / G1 Qafila, G2 Classique Legend |
2016 |
140/ $33,000 |
4 SW’s / G1 Shout the Bar, G2 Dubious |
2017 |
126/ $71,500 |
3 SW’s / G1 Farnan |
2018 |
146/ $88,000 |
Yearlings |
2019 |
94/ $99,000 |
Foals |
2020 |
94/ $110,000 |
Yet to be born |