“You’ve got to go in there all guns blazing,” says Bryony Frost, outlining her approach to next week’s Grand National, confounding any chauvinists who thought this young woman might prefer quietly popping round at the back for her first attempt at the famous race. “You can’t say, ‘We’re just trying to get round.’ That’s not my job, my job is to fill my horse with confidence, fill my team with confidence and keep kicking.”
The 22-year-old Frost brought a similarly attacking attitude to a schooling session here, where she cleared six Grand National-style fences on her mount for next week’s race, Milansbar. The horse has never been to Aintree, so she wanted to know how he would react to the different look of spruce-covered obstacles and since this was only the second time she had sat on him, she wanted to find out how he will cope with meeting a fence on a bad stride.
All went smoothly and the spruce was hardly ruffled. When Frost asked for a big one, Milansbar came up readily for her. But he was clever enough to fit in a short stride at the final fence when taking a flier would have been too ambitious, not to say dangerous.
Frost was well pleased. “I’d rather a horse back off these fences than take them on. Those are the intelligent ones.” She likened Milansbar to Pacha Du Polder, who gave her an enjoyable spin over the Aintree fences to be fourth in last year’s Foxhunters.
“Pacha didn’t hit one last year. They know where they’re at, they know their scope and they know their limit. As long as you’ve got the revs up, they can change their stride.”
But even if we take the jumping for granted, Frost has a tightrope to walk with her tactics on Milansbar. Somehow in the National’s 40-runner field she must find a bit of space for this veteran who doesn’t like to be crowded. He is a frontrunner who has been recently enlivened by blinkers but Frost must conserve his stamina for four and a quarter miles. How will she do it?
“The main aim is, get in a pocket, if you can find one. Get in a rhythm, because rhythm wins races, especially in those marathon races. And you’ve got to find luck.”
By Chris Cook
Fontwell: 2.05 Thundering Home 2.35 Wizards Bridge 3.10 Larry 3.40 Clondaw Westie 4.15 Kings Lad (nb) 4.50 Burgess Dream 5.20 Helioblu Bareliere
Lingfield: 2.20 Mister Musicmaster 2.50 Spring Romance 3.25 Yes Daddy 3.55 Suwaan 4.30 Six Strings (nap) 5.05 Evening Starlight 5.35 Sarvi
Chelmsford: 6.10 Miniature Daffodil 6.40 Rustang 7.10 Maratha 7.45 Candesta 8.15 Irish Minister 8.45 Jack Nevison 9.15 Geetanjali
This first attempt on the National means a great deal to Frost, whose father, Jimmy, rode Little Polveir to win the race in 1989. The VHS tape of the BBC’s coverage that day has seen plenty of use. “It’s a race that has lived in my family since I opened my eyes,” Frost said. “It runs through my blood.
“There’s something about these marathon races, when you get on a horse and you’re galloping for nine minutes solid, going over fences like this, there’s a sort of partnership you don’t get normally with them. It’s where I’m happiest. When you get an opportunity to ride in it, it’s allowing you to have a buzz that you don’t get from anywhere else.”
The National also has a special resonance for Milansbar’s owner, Robert Bothway, a semi-retired Norfolk farmer who says his cousin’s father-in-law owned the 1959 winner, Oxo. Neil King, trainer of Milansbar, says it is “terribly exciting” to have a runner in the Aintree race.
If King has one regret, it is that he has run the horse four times already this year, having believed he would not make the cut for the National, which now looks a formality. But Milansbar shows no ill effects.
“Since he ran in the Midlands National he’s been in the best form he’s been in all season. I’ve been thrilled with him. He’s been alive in himself, he’s a horse that likes this time of year. He does seem in tip-top order.”
