Horse racing is a very traditional sport and holds deep values that have stood the test of time, for good, but also for worse. The modern environment has outdated a few of these traditions, even though it is easier said than done trying to spark a cultural and perspective shift on an issue that is subject to as much dogma as this, women's participation and recognition in horse racing. However, with or without the general approval, the ladies have been getting it done since Meriel Tufnell, Gay Kelleway, Nina Carberry, Hayley Turner, and now, Bryony Frost. The daughter of former Grand National winner Jimmy Frost, Bryony Frost is the new face for female jockeys in the UK, and no doubt has fans checking up the betfair grand national betting odds or that of any major horse racing event every time, because she is simply put, that good.
At only 25 years old, Bryony is already the record holder for the most wins in National Hunt jump races with 175 wins. As Cheltenham draws closer, the spirits will once more be up for Bryony, with her win in 2018's The Festival's Ryanair Chase, with Frodon, still very much present in minds. The jump jockey from Buckfastleigh is developing a taste for Cheltenham and has always produced stunning displays on the racecourse. In 2017, as an amateur jockey, Frost won the Foxhunter Chase at The Festival, riding Pacha Du Polder, and then the Ryanair Chase in 2019, with Paul Nicholl's Frodon. Turning pro in 2017, Bryony Frost became only the fifth woman in the UK to record 75 wins under the National Hunt rules in 2018, impressing at the Grand National of that year with a fifth-place finish. Still only a conditional jockey when she claimed victory in the Ryanair Chase in 2019, Bryony would win the 2018-19 conditional jockey title and be hitting a nice bit of form in 2020 before the pandemic stuck to cancel most of the year.
She could not continue her streak of wow in Cheltenham, but Bryony made a splash earlier in the year by riding Frodon once more to victory at the King George VI Chase at Kempton Park. This win was not only huge for Bryony as it gave her a record-setting 175 wins, but it also scored a twelfth win for Paul Nicholls in the race. For the current season, Bryony Frost shows no signs of letting up, with 34 wins in total under her belt, including a whopping 21 in hurdle races. Not one to be outdone easily, Bryony has 33 second-place finishes, 23 third-place finishes, and 17 fourth-place finishes in the 236 races she has participated in this season. Within the last fourteen days, Bryony has recorded one win in sixteen outings, her most recent performance coming seventh, fifth, sixth, and fourth at Lingfield on the 15th of February. In between now and March, expect a very charged calendar for Bryony Frost, as she ramps up her form to once again be a shining light for female jockeys come March and The Festival.
