Cheltenham star Bryony Frost has been ruled out of April's Grand National Meeting at Aintree because of a broken collar bone.
Frost became the first female jockey to win a grade one race over obstacles at the Festival when she rode the Paul Nicholls-trained Frodon to victory in the Ryanair Chase last week.
The 23-year-old, whose success proved one of the most popular of the week among racing fans and made front-page headlines, suffered a nasty fall from Midnight Bliss at Southwell on Monday.
In a statement, Frost confirmed the extent of her injury and thanked fans.
“I’ve been taken aback by all the support I’ve received since Monday,” she said. “The racing world is an extremely caring one. Although we are all strangers within it, we become a family when we need each other and that’s the beauty of it.
"Yesterday I went to see an extremely good specialist in Cardiff where my x-ray results have shown that I’ve fractured my clavicle.”
Frost was fifth in last year’s National - her first - on Milansbar, the highest finish of any British-trained horse. Her ride for this year’s contest had not yet been confirmed, but long-time regular partner Black Corton was among 81 horses left in the race at the latest entry stage yesterday.
As well as the main event, Frost was likely to have several high-profile rides across the three-day meeting, with Cheltenham winner Frodon a possible runner in the Melling Chase.
