Up-and-coming galloper Raise No Doubt further enhanced his burgeoning reputation with another commanding display as he claimed the $75,000 Novice race over 1200m on Sunday.
Once the Australian-bred gelding jumped smartly and landed at the head of the queue, there was no turning back as he powered home easily to win by two lengths from Yangon (Alan Munro) with Usain Colt (A’Isisuhairi Kasim) another three lengths away in third. The winning time on the Long Course was 1min 9.79secs.
It was Raise No Doubt’s second win on the trot after a hugely impressive debut last month in an Initiation race (1000m) on March 9 when he won by almost five lengths.
The successful pilot on that occasion was John Powell and the Australian hoop once again reprised his winning role here, steering his jet-powered mount to another emphatic victory.
“He jumped well and once he got clear from the 300m mark, it was fairly easy,” said Powell, who won back-to-back races after saluting earlier with Cash Luck in the day’s feature race, the Group 3 JBBA Moonbeam Vase.
“He’s stepped up very well today but he actually trialled terribly the other day even though he ran second so it’s a credit to Leticia (Dragon) and her team. They did a good job getting him ready for this race.”
While she has always maintained a high opinion of Raise No Doubt’s abilities, winning trainer Dragon had been somewhat cautious of his chances given the presence of the likes of Yangon, Usain Colt and Victory Achiever (Manoel Nunes).
“There were quite a few good horses and he was up against some strong company,” she said. “But he is improving all the time and I have been very happy with his work.”
An assault on the next two legs of the Singapore Three-Year-Old Series - the Singapore Three-Year-Old Classic (1400m) and the Singapore Guineas (1600m) – has been raised for the Maple Stars Stable-owned galloper, though Dragon was keeping her cards close to her chest.
“I’ll have to discuss it again with his owners,” smiled the Singaporean handler.
Despite steering Raise No Doubt to two comprehensive triumphs, Powell was also preaching caution ahead of the $350,000 Group 2 Singapore 3YO Classic in two weeks.
“He looks like he can handle the longer trip but let’s take it step by step and not throw him into the deep end straight away.”
Raise No Doubt, a three-year-old by Not A Single Doubt out of Extremely, had three starts previously in Australia where he made little impression, earning just over A$8,000 for his efforts.
The move to Singapore has since sparked a turnaround in his form and fortunes and he has now collected around $75,000 in stakes earnings in the space of a month.
