Simon Tindall, breeder of Arkle winner Simonsig, dies at the age of 88

Click here to add us to your Google preferred sources or find out more here

Simon Tindall, who bred Cheltenham Festival winner Simonsig and Royal Ascot scorer Gale Force Ten, has died aged 88.

Tindall was a driving force behind publisher Haymarket, with whom he was associated for more than 50 years, rising to the position of managing director.

During his time at Haymarket, which published the likes of What Car? and Campaign, Tindall, a passionate racing fan, launched the Racing and Breeding Update magazine and later purchased Pacemaker magazine.

Julian Muscat, who worked for the Racing and Breeding Update, said: “Simon was the most wonderful enthusiast when it came to racing. He set up the magazine Racing and Breeding Update and invested a huge amount of money in it; it was the one thing where his professional life and his hobbies came together.”

Simonsig (Barry Geraghty) jumps the last clear in the 2013 Racing Post Arkle Chase at CheltenhamCredit: Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos)

Bloodstock writer and consultant Jocelyn de Moubray worked alongside Muscat, and said Tindall was generous with his time and support for what was a new organisation overseen by a young staff.

“I was about the oldest person there and I was 25 at the time,” De Moubray said. “He was a friendly, charming man and brilliant to work with. He was much more interested in jump racing and he used to love going to Cheltenham each year.”

Tindall’s passion for jump racing was indulged with horses in training with Stan Mellor, who sent out Krug to win the Northern Hurdle at Haydock and No-U-Turn to score in a valuable handicap hurdle at Sandown in 1985.

No-U-Turn and Krug, in partnership with David Minton, were bought for Tindall by Anthony Stroud in his early days as a bloodstock agent.

"He was the most wonderful man and a great supporter of Stan and Elain Mellor," Stroud said. "He loved sport, whether it was rugby, cricket, watching Fulham or racing.

"He did a lot of work for the Injured Jockeys Fund and was a tireless supporter of theirs. Lots of people are described as being great, but he really was a great person."

Such was Stroud's early enthusiasm that he misinterpreted Tindall's intentions after they had secured a horse to go hurdling.

"After Simon and I had bought the horse he said to me that we'd better go and buy a chaser," Stroud said. "I thought he meant he wanted another horse and was about to set about it, but he only meant a drink! We shared a few and missed our flight back."

Tindall was a supporter of point-to-point racing, with horses trained in Britain by Jenny Gordon, wife of Chris Gordon, for whom trainer Ian Ferguson would scout for horses in Ireland.

“Michael Stroud, Anthony’s father, and I used to scout for Simon to find horses to win the point-to-point championship,” Ferguson said. “It came to be that Simon loved coming over for Punchestown and he started sending me a few young horses to bring forward and assess. He loved a party and he was great fun.”

Simonsig and Barry Geraghty jump the last in the 2013 ArkleCredit: Mark Cranham

Among the horses Ferguson was sent by Tindall was homebred Simonsig, who went on to win the 2012 Baring Bingham Novices’ Hurdle and the following year’s Arkle for owner Ronnie Bartlett.

Ferguson said: “Simonsig was a bit of a freak and you could see from the start he was different to the average bear. Simon had never sold horses before, but pointers were starting to make a bit more and he mentioned that he would be open to selling one or two privately. I recommended the horse to Ronnie, and he and Simon did the deal over the phone.

“Simon and Ronnie became great friends and Simon was always invited along by Ronnie whenever the horse ran; it was like he still owned him in a way.”

Tindall’s Highfields Farm in Sussex also enjoyed success on the Flat and he bred 2013 Jersey Stakes winner Gale Force Ten out of Ronaldsay, who had won a Listed race for him for trainer Richard Hannon snr.