Famous because of her brilliant sire son, 25-year-old Singles Bar died peacefully on Wednesday at Arrowfield where she had enjoyed a happy retirement since the birth of her last foal, Apollo Hope in 2012.Not A Single Doubt isn't the only achievement on her resume. Singles Bar brought plenty of genetic firepower to her matings with the eight stallions – Japan's supersire Sunday Silence among them - that fathered her six fillies and seven colts.
Bred in 1991 by the Segenhoe Breeding Venture, she was the result of a mating of the influential broodmare Easy Date with the 1985 Golden Slipper winner and great source of electric early speed, Rory's Jester. Singles Bar inherited dad's showy colour and some of his precocity, winning twice and earning stakes-placed status in four starts at two.
But what made her most valuable as a breeding prospect was her older half-brother Snippets. He's the horse that gave the Magic Millions concept a dream start when he won the inaugural 1987 2YO Classic and went on to become a triple Group 1 winner and Australasia's Champion Sprinter. Even better, he was a wonderful sire of 57 stakeswinners and damsire of 84 stakeswinners, including another Arrowfield resident, Snitzel.
Snippets stood the last eight seasons of his stud career at Arrowfield, until his death in 2002, and he is buried in the Stud's graveyard which will also be Singles Bar's final resting-place.
Over the past decade or so, the Easy Date family has cemented its solid gold status in the ring and on the track producing Champion 2YO Filly Forensics, Group 1 winners Rewaaya & Ertijaal and Group winners Mushreq, Sharnee Rose and Sense Of Occasion.
Singles Bar's contribution isn't limited to Not A Single Doubt's racing career (he was Redoute's Choice's first stakeswinner), or the 40 stakeswinners he's so far sired. She left seven other winners including Not A Single Doubt's full brother Rogano, now making his own splash at stud in Western Australia, and stakes performers Natural Is My Name and Hanky Panky.
Singles Bar's daughters are steadily building her own branch of the Easy Date dynasty, with black type winners Zizou, Come Hither, Fun In Flight, Lady Jivago and Cohesion already on the board. It helps that all her daughters are in good hands and receiving excellent opportunities.
Several younger relatives of Singles Bar carry her torch at Arrowfield, among them her last filly, Dream Date (by Starcraft); her grand-daughters Hokuspokus (by Red Ransom) & Hussterics (by Hussonet); great-grand-daughter Magic Touch (by Redoute's Choice); and dual Group 3 winner Sharnee Rose (by Nadeem). With young progeny by Redoute's Choice, Snitzel, Animal Kingdom & Dundeel, they have every chance of keeping Singles Bar's name in stakes-winning pedigrees for years to come.
In the meantime, Not A Single Doubt, who posted Stakeswinner No. 40, Doubt I'm Dreaming at Moonee Valley last Friday, has two colts and a filly going through the Inglis Easter Sale-ring next week.
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