Spirited win by Arrowfield graduate

Spirited Eagle’s gutsy victory at Moonee Valley on Saturday moved Arrowfield sire Not A Single Doubt into third spot on the Australian second-season sires’ premiership table in the winners category.

Not A Single Doubt now has 38 winners for the season and is equal third with Shamardal behind Fastnet Rock (56) and Al Maher (48).

Faced with a 59kg impost, a slow rated track and a bumping duel around the home turn, Spirited Eagle didn’t shirk the issue and did best in a three way photo finish to defeat Hovercraft (Starcraft) and Retrieve (Rahy).

The win extended the gelding’s record to 4 wins from 6 starts and trainer Leon Macdonald predicted there was more to come.  “That was a good win considering the weight he had to carry and the interference he suffered on the corner,” Macdonald said.  “He has that desire to win and find the line and that’s what we like about him.  We’ve always thought he was pretty smart.

“He is going to be better on top of the ground and a bigger track so we might keep him away from Moonee Valley after he has a spell.”

Despite being by Not A Single Doubt, Macdonald is hopeful Spirited Eagle will be able to run a journey.  “I know his breeding says he’s a sprinter, but with a bit of maturity, there is no telling how far he might run.  Hopefully he can get up to around a mile.

“I won’t be hurrying him back into to work.  He might be back in the late spring, but I’m looking more to the autumn at this stage.”

For Lindop, the decision to ride Spirited Eagle at Moonee Valley was an easy one.  “He’s a very smart horse, no question about it,” Lindop said.  “To knuckle down and win with 59kg on that track was a great effort.

“He still has a fair bit of improvement left in him and it will be good to see how he measures up as a three-year old.”

Bred by Arrowfield, Spirited Eagle was an $85,000 purchase from the 2009 Gold Coast Magic Millions.  His dam Rezidencia (Carnegie) was a Moonee Valley winner and is a daughter of triple Group winner and Stradbroke Handicap runner-up Society Bay (Zephyr Bay).  It’s the family of G1 winners Final Destination (O’Reilly) and Sight Winner (Faltaat).

Not A Single Doubt stands alongside his own sire Redoute’s Choice at Arrowfield and is available at a $13,750 (inc gst) service fee in 2010.