Half-brother to huge talent Simonsig makes impressive winning hurdles debut

Nicky Henderson and prominent owner Ronnie Bartlett may have found the successor to the brilliant but ultimately ill-fated Simonsig in the form of half-brother Dusart, convincing winner of a Newbury novice hurdle on his debut on Thursday.

The son of Flemensfirth was a €50,000 purchase from Simmonstown Stud at the Tattersalls Ireland November Mixed Sale in 2015 and was swept up by Ian Ferguson three years later when selling for €85,000 from Ballincurrig House Stud on behalf of Fiona Magee at the Derby Sale.

Dusart, the tenth foal out of the winning Terimon mare Dusty Too and half-brother to dual Cheltenham Festival winner Simonsig, was given quotes of around 20-1 for the Supreme Novices' Hurdle after his convincing success in the Newbury event, prompting a comparison from Nico de Boinville.

The jockey told Racing TV: "He's a real standout animal isn't he? A proper horse. They're very different types. Simonsig was a light, extravagant horse, whereas this horse is a proper National Hunt type."

Simonsig: a top-class talent at Seven BarrowsCredit: Edward Whitaker

The eyecatching grey was famously fragile but had immense talent too, notching up eight wins from 13 starts under rules and five Graded victories, two of which came at Grade 1 level. His defining moment came when pulling out all the stops to win the Arkle at the 2013 Cheltenham Festival despite scoping badly afterwards.

Following the gelding's fatal injury in the 2016 Shloer Chase, rider Barry Geraghty said: "When he won the Arkle he scoped so badly afterwards that a normal horse would have pulled up. To win the Arkle and to be that unwell was a massive performance.

"Nicky was afraid to work him and Sprinter [Sacre] against each other, and that's a measure of how good he was."

Dusty Too has produced four winners from six runners to date, including the useful Presenting gelding Drumcliff - a three-time victor over fences - and dual hurdles scorer Simarthur.

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