The rise and rise of Bryony Frost may continue at Ascot on Saturday, when she could very well find herself with enviable rides in the Ascot Chase and the Reynoldstown. The 22‑year‑old, unknown a year ago but now a regular Saturday winner with a Grade One success to her name, is slated to be aboard Black Corton in the Reynoldstown and also appears in line for the mount on Frodon in the big race, having won on him at Cheltenham last time.
Paul Nicholls, who trains both horses, said he wanted to talk over jockey plans with Frodon’s owner, Paul Vogt, and also with his own principal jockey, Sam Twiston-Davies. But he has possible mounts for Twiston‑Davies at Haydock and a good ride for Harry Cobden at Wincanton on the same day, so it may well suit him to have Frost take both mounts at Ascot.
“It’s quite possible Bryony’ll ride Frodon because he can do really, really well for her,” Nicholls said during a media morning at his Somerset stable arranged by the Ascot sponsor, Betfair. “She probably deserves to ride him. She listens, she’s enthusiastic but, most of all, the horses run and jump for her. It’s natural ability, isn’t it? Ruby [Walsh] was saying on the television at Cheltenham how she’s very quiet when they’re jumping, horses jump out of her hands, she doesn’t panic. She has a lot of good qualities. She seems a very good chase jockey.”
Southwell 2.20 Star Ascending (nap) 2.55 Caged Lightning 3.25 Serenity Now (nb) 4.00 Sooqaan 4.30 Essential 5.00 Archimedes
Ayr and Lingfield abandoned.
– Tips by Chris Cook.
Thanks to Nicholls, Frost has had a string of quality animals to ride this winter, which is almost unprecedented for a female jockey in jump racing. But he said that, mindful of her inexperience, he is not keen for her to take on large numbers of rides or to risk herself on moderate jumpers.
“I think it’s incredibly hard for girls,” the trainer said. “I don’t think she wants to be getting loads of falls, she needs to be looked after a little bit. It’s a tough old game and it’s a different scenario, having to deal with falls. If she can pick and choose what she’s doing all the time she can end up riding 50 winners a year, every year, for a good while, and hopefully some good winners. That’s the thing.
“She was booked to ride one today in a novice chase at Plumpton that had been 100-1 the last five times it ran. I said to her: ‘You don’t want to be riding that.’ If that goes and falls at the first or does something stupid you can’t ride Frodon or Black Corton on Saturday, you’re off for six weeks and you’ll be forgotten.”
That need to contain risk means that, for Nicholls, there is “absolutely no chance” of Frost or any other woman being champion jockey for the forseeable future. “I think it’d be hard on the Flat for Josephine Gordon to do that, but it is possible. I think, jumping, the fact that you need to have six rides every day, like [Tony] McCoy, and then deal with the falls that he had ... I just think it would be impossible. It probably will happen one day but I think, being realistic, she has to be minded a little bit and looked after. It’d be nice if she proved me wrong.”
