The Cheltenham Festival holds many fond memories for jockey Bryony Frost. As an amateur, she kick-started what would turn out to be a fine professional career by winning the Foxhunter Chase on board Pacha Du Polder at the 2017 Festival, and from there she has never looked back, with plenty more big wins following all across the country.
Perhaps even more memorable was Frost’s success in the Ryanair Chase with Frodon, a horse the jockey holds a special fondness for. As well as being an impressive personal triumph, in winning the Ryanair Chase, Frost became the first woman to win a Grade One race over obstacles at the Cheltenham Festival, doing her bit to inspire the next generation of female jockeys. The triumph truly established Frost’s name among the sport’s elite riders, and it’s clear that she has the respect of her peers and rivals throughout the game.
She will have been disappointed, however, not to have ridden a winner at last year’s Festival. There are few jockeys who enjoy such close connections with their horses, and as a result the pain of defeat undoubtedly hits harder. Her attempt to defend her Ryanair Chase crown with Frodon led to an indifferent fourth-placed finish, and although the Paul Nicholls-trained horse was not the favorite for victory, many had backed him on their Cheltenham betting slips.
This year, the quest for Frost is to earn another Cheltenham victory, and one of her best chances will be with her old pal Frodon, but this time it is the Gold Cup that stands as the sought-after prize. As the showpiece race of the entire Festival, the Gold Cup is the one that makes all the headlines before and after the meeting begins and ends, and it’s the one that every owner, trainer and jockey wants to win. There is no doubt that Frost has dreamed of winning the famous old race, and she’ll be putting the work in to give herself and her horse the best possible chance of victory come March 19th.
She and Nicholls have reason for confidence too, in the light of Frodon’s magnificent success in the King George VI Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day. Having been a heavy loser in his previous outing at Aintree, few expected Frodon to do well in the King George – as his 20/1 pre-race odds reflected. But a fine performance from both horse and jockey yielded a sensational triumph, denying Waiting
Patiently and favorite Clan Des Obeaux.
“He has just smashed everyone’s expectations,” Frost reflected. “I don’t argue with him too much as he is his own personality. I cannot stress how much this horse means to me – he is my life. You dream as a little girl to ride a horse like this.”
Frost’s job is to extract the same kind of performance from Frodon in the Gold Cup, where the scale of the challenge facing the pair is mammoth. Up against the might of defending champion Al Boum Photo, and the vast potential of Champ and A Plus Tard, it will be a difficult ask for Frost to get the win. While odds of 12/1 suggest there is hope, it will take a seismic performance to cross the line in first place on March 19th.
But there is something about the combination of Frost and Frodon that goes beyond mere reason. The win in the King George seemingly came from nowhere, and the horses that can suddenly click on any given day are often the most dangerous, even if they are the most unpredictable too. There are other more favored horses for the Gold Cup, but rule out Frost and Frodon at your peril.
